Chris Alfano shows how Bitcoin mining monetizes stranded gas, reduces flaring, and enables more oil production.

Key Takeaways
-------------

![Center of Hash - Bitcoin Offtake Unlocks Oil Production | Chris Alfano](https://www.tftc.io/content/images/2025/08/Chris-Alfano.jpg)

Chris Alfano, CEO of 360 Energy, explains how Bitcoin mining has become a powerful tool for oil producers to monetize stranded natural gas, reduce flaring, and unlock additional oil production. What began as a vertically integrated mining venture evolved into a services business that deploys gas-to-Bitcoin infrastructure for upstream producers. In regions like the Permian Basin, where oversupply and poor pipeline contracts push gas prices to near zero or negative, Bitcoin mining offers a far more lucrative outlet, up to $13.50 per MCF compared to $1–3 on the pipeline. For large companies, the main value lies in keeping oil flowing without violating flaring restrictions, while smaller independents may chase Bitcoin economics directly. By offering flexibility, optionality, and higher margins, mining is reframing how natural gas assets are valued in the U.S. and beyond.

Best Quotes
-----------

“We realized that Bitcoin mining isn’t just a means to an end for oil and gas, it’s the other way around.”

“Henry Hub might pay $3.50 an MCF, but mining Bitcoin at the wellhead is $13.50 an MCF.”

“If a pipeline shuts down, producers can be stranded overnight. Our systems give them optionality.”

“For a big producer, it’s not really about the Bitcoin economics. They’ll pay us rent to capture gas, because without us, they’d have to shut in a million dollars a day of oil production.”

“Bitcoin mining is solving real-world problems. You can’t put an AI data center in the middle of an oil field and power it with stranded gas.”

“Only about half a percent of U.S. gas is flared, but that alone is two gigawatts of mining capacity.”

Conclusion
----------

This episode illustrates how Bitcoin mining is becoming integral to energy markets, not as a replacement but as a solution to inefficiencies in oil and gas. By transforming waste gas into productive energy, it reduces emissions, sustains oil production, and generates higher returns than conventional sales. Alfano’s approach positions 360 Energy less as a mining company and more as an oilfield services provider using Bitcoin as a tool, showing that mining’s future lies in solving industrial problems while making Bitcoin’s network more resilient and distributed.

Timestamps
----------

00:00 - Chris Alfano's Background and 360 Energy Strategy
02:18 - From SaaS to Bitcoin Mining: The 2020 Rabbit Hole Journey
05:56 - Evolution from Self-Mining to Oil Field Services Business
08:40 - US Natural Gas Markets and Regional Opportunities
14:52 - Gas Pricing Differentials: Henry Hub vs Waha Dynamics
23:48 - Stranded Gas vs Pipeline-Connected Mining Opportunities
29:32 - Three Value Props: Environmental, Oil, and Economic
33:13 - Case Study: Unlocking Stranded Oil Wells in Texas Gulf
37:20 - Bitcoin Economics vs Liability Reduction Models
43:13 - Mining Infrastructure: Generators, Data Centers, Servers
52:26 - Managing Bitcoin and Natural Gas Price Volatility
01:00:55 - Site Evaluation: Decline Curves and Operational Complexity
01:07:17 - Explaining Bitcoin Sustainability to Energy Customers
01:17:36 - Bitcoin Mining Philosophy and Ecosystem Role
01:24:39 - Strategic Focus and Future Growth Plans

Transcript
----------

(00:05) Chris Alana, welcome to the center of hash. Parker Lewis, it's great to be here. Yeah. Um, before we get into the the topic of the day, we we co-work here out of uh Bitcoin Park. It's mid July in the Texas summer. How's the summer been? It's been hot, good, rainy.
(00:30) you know, we've uh done some family trips and stuff like that. So, tried to get out of it. We're heading to California end of this week. So, upstream mining isn't impacted by the 4CP here in Texas. No natural gas mining. No grid, no 4CP, no curtailment. SMU footballs on the horizon. Uh on the horizon and Ryzen, they say you uh you were at Happy Valley for that. I was disastrous.
(00:56) That was a uh not our best not our best effort. Cool experience though. Our expectations is high this expectations are high. Coach is uh saying big things. He's uh good to target for other schools. So got to keep him happy at SMU. But you know, good transfer giving giving Texas a run for the money as best team in Texas.
(01:19) I'll be uh very pleased if we make it to another playoff. That might not happen again in quite some time, but that's what I said last year with Will Cole when we were sitting here in the summer looking at the team. But, you know, we should be better this year than we were last year. So, very pumped. Well, uh hopefully hash price is higher and come football season in a month.
(01:38) That would be nice. Got to get the uh ordinal people back selling uh their JPEGs. That's controversial. We'll talk about that towards the end, but um we we'll use that as a segue into um the topic of the day. So, in the in in the first couple episodes, we've discussed mining at a very broad high level, and today we're going to go deep on a specific energy strategy and mining strategy.
(02:06) Um Chris is the co-founder and CEO of 360 Energy. Um, Chris, just give a little bit about your background and what 360 does and kind of what defines your strategy. Yeah. Yeah. So 360 energy right before 360 uh I went to SMU if it wasn't obvious before um studied finance and economics there and started a company 2016 with a hedge fund manager in Dallas uh called Keyman Intelligence and uh built that company for four years.
(02:45) Sold that company in 2020 and started 360 and uh what did that company do that we did uh SAS solutions for private credit hedge funds. So we would uh standardize a bunch of the reporting data from you know these these CLOs's have 300 positions in private credit. Um so a bunch of companies that aren't publicly traded don't adhere to GAP and so uh what we would do is aggregate all the data that all of those portfolio positions would report.
(03:15) So like their financials um sims credit agreements everything like that. We'd aggregate that all into uh uh our platform and we'd standardize it. Um, so customers of ours, like other hedge funds, CLOS's would have access to the platform. They'd log in, they'd be able to see all their borrowers uh be able to see kind of standard financial data uh across um their whole portfolio, right? If uh different borrowers report in different ways and even same borrowers quarter to quarter.
(03:44) So yeah, it was just a tool to make analysts more efficient at actually analyzing, kind of get them out of the monkey labor of having to spread financials and figure out where pieces of information were. So it's just kind of like a a database with standardization for uh everything to do with their portfolio positions.
(04:04) And how'd you get from there to 360? Well, sold the company. um moved down to Austin, was out of a job at that point, kind of figuring out what I wanted to do next. Co happened. So, I'm a Bitcoin class of 2020 going down the rabbit hole at that point, kind of right after the company. Um, and obviously fell in love with Bitcoin for many of the same reasons everyone else does.
(04:28) And being a finance guy, being a tech guy, uh, really made a lot of sense in my mind. So, wanted to start another company. was kind of sick of doing software stuff. Um,orked around Austin. Uh, met a great guy named Mike Hamilton. Kind of told me all about this Bitcoin mining thing. Um, sounded really cool.
(04:46) And so kind of started going down the Bitcoin mining rabbit hole. Uh, as anyone does, you try to figure out, okay, you know, I can basically plug in a Bitcoin miner anywhere, but how do I do it, you know, cheaply for a long term, uh, to kind of protect the downside, protect the margin, all that stuff.
(05:05) So, um, for us that was looking at grid, looking at solar, looking at many different, you know, potential options to power our miners. Kind of settled on natural gas as something that's very abundant in Texas and something that's relatively cheap. Uh, we wanted to take it a step further and and actually vertically integrate the natural gas into the Bitcoin mining as a way of kind of controlling that future, having, you know, decade at a single location, having complete operational control.
(05:31) And so, uh, built a team with Sean Milmo, my co-founder, and a few other guys, um, that had a lot more oil and gas background than I did to, uh, stand up 360 Energy. And at that time, uh, the the company's objective was self mining through the ownership and operation of the natural gas assets. So, we went out and bought some uh, old producing uh, gas wells in the Barnett Shale, right outside of Fort Worth, just 20 minutes north of of downtown Fort Worth. And that's really how we got our start.
(06:02) Um, so took over those wells, put our first Bitcoin mine out there in late 21. Um, and started, you know, mining, uh, at probably the worst possible time to be mining and buying infrastructure and stuff like that. And, um, but yeah, that was that was really what it was all about was, you know, how do we bind these old relatively unattractive natural gas assets to traditional oil and gas people? um and turn that into something much more profitable, much more valuable through Bitcoin mining.
(06:33) Uh two questions. What what initially So you mentioned in 2020, what made you go down the Bitcoin rabbit hole just quickly? And then second, um you started out vertically integrated owning the assets, but that's evolved a bit. Yes. Okay. Yeah. I mean, the rabbit hole was a function of time um and a function of just kind of the macroeconomic conditions in the US, right? Uh knowing enough to know uh a ton of money printing is probably not good. Um and seeing all the free money that was going out there, uh was concerning. And so,
(07:14) and also, you know, I'


The Fed-Treasury merger unleashes unprecedented money printing.

### U.S. Government Will Consolidate Power Between Fed and Treasury to Enable Money Printing - Bitcoin Alpha Panel

![This Week's Top Predictions](https://www.tftc.io/content/images/2025/08/terribletrader_Abstract_visualization_of_wealth_transfer_gold_e7c8d092-c521-402a-af4a-5f814cf82096_3.png)

The Bitcoin Alpha team predicts the Trump administration will effectively merge Federal Reserve and Treasury functions to maintain fiscal dominance as deficits exceed 6% of GDP. With interest expense now exceeding $1 trillion annually and representing over 100% of receipts in some months, the government faces an impossible math problem without dramatic monetary intervention.

"They're trying to merge the Fed and the Treasury to make sure that they can achieve their economic goals," I observed during our discussion. The public feuding between Trump and Powell, including the bizarre construction site confrontation, represents theater masking a deeper reality - independent monetary policy cannot survive when the sovereign faces a funding crisis. History shows no government has chosen default over debasement when pushed to the brink. The team expects this consolidation to accelerate money printing beyond anything seen previously, making Bitcoin's fixed supply increasingly attractive.

### Bitcoin Will Reach $1 Million and Gold Parity Within This Cycle - Tuur Demeester

Tuur Demeester believes Bitcoin is heading toward $1 million per coin, which would represent approximately 11 kilograms of gold - the point at which Bitcoin's total market cap equals all the gold in the world. He argues this isn't just another four-year cycle but potentially an extended bull market lasting an additional year to 18 months beyond typical patterns.

"I think that's the next magnet," Tuur explained, borrowing David Bailey's term for psychological price targets that pull markets forward. The confluence of ETF adoption, treasury companies accumulating Bitcoin, and nation-state interest creates unprecedented demand drivers. With real inflation running between 10-15% annually according to his analysis, Bitcoin's role as pristine collateral is becoming undeniable. He notes that even after selling 80,000 Bitcoin recently, the market only dropped 4% - a sign of extraordinary buying strength that suggests this cycle has much further to run.

### Bitcoin Mining Will Become Fully Integrated With Energy Generation Within 10 Years - Phil Geiger

Phil Geiger predicts that Bitcoin mining will evolve from a standalone industry to become completely integrated with energy production at the source. He argues that mining ASICs will function more like demand response tools similar to batteries, but with zero energy loss in transmission and instant monetization capabilities.

"I view it more as Bitcoin mining is more of a component of the energy production industry or a tool that any energy producers can use," Phil explained on Center of Hash. He points to renewable energy operations where 20% of generated electricity goes to waste during peak production as the perfect use case. As the Bitcoin network continues to demand the cheapest possible electricity, miners will naturally migrate to these stranded energy sources. The permissionless nature of the network means any energy producer globally can immediately monetize excess capacity without negotiating contracts or building transmission infrastructure. This transformation will make Bitcoin mining less of an independent industry and more of a standard feature of energy infrastructure.

* * *

[![This Week's Top Predictions](https://www.tftc.io/content/images/2025/04/X-1.png)](https://newsletter.blockspacemedia.com/?ref=tftc.io)

Blockspace conducts cutting-edge proprietary research for investors.

The Big Difference Between Bitcoin and Crypto Treasury Companies
----------------------------------------------------------------

Digital Asset Treasury (DAT) companies—public firms existing solely to hold crypto on their balance sheets—are creating two distinct market structures. Bitcoin DATs show tight mNAV (market cap/treasury value) clustering around 1.3x average, while crypto DATs exhibit wild swings from 0.16x to 1.94x.

**Key Bitcoin DATs:**

*   MicroStrategy: 1.58x
*   Semler Scientific: 1.04x
*   Metaplanet: 1.14x

**Crypto DATs show extreme variance:**

*   ETH: BitMine (1.9x) vs Dynamix (0.16x discount)
*   SOL: UPEXI (1.2x) vs DFDV (1.8x)
*   SUI: Mill City Ventures (1.8x)

![This Week's Top Predictions](https://www.tftc.io/content/images/2025/08/image-4.png)

The divergence reflects fundamental differences: Bitcoin DATs benefit from institutional flows and liquidity, while crypto DATs hold more volatile assets with questionable long-term value. Management compensation tied to AUM percentages incentivizes asset accumulation, particularly problematic for less liquid cryptos prone to reflexive price action.

The trend signals market maturation—Bitcoin treasuries evolving into predictable institutional vehicles while crypto treasuries remain speculative plays. As one critic notes: "Does anyone actually want to own SOL in 10 years?"

[_Link to Full Article_](https://blockspace.media/insight/the-big-difference-between-bitcoin-and-crypto-treasury-companies/?ref=tftc.io)

Subscribe to them here (seriously, you should): [https://newsletter.blockspacemedia.com/](https://newsletter.blockspacemedia.com/?ref=tftc.io)

* * *

_Ten31, the largest bitcoin-focused investor, has deployed $150M across 30+ companies through three funds. I am a Managing Partner at Ten31 and am very proud of the work we are doing. Learn more at_ [ten31.vc/invest](https://ten31.vc/invest?ref=tftc.io)_._

* * *

_Get this newsletter sent to your inbox daily:_ [_https://www.tftc.io/bitcoin-brief/_](https://www.tftc.io/bitcoin-brief/)

_STACK SATS hat:_ [https://tftcmerch.io/](https://tftcmerch.io/?ref=tftc.io)

_Subscribe to our YouTube channels and follow us on Nostr and X:_

 @media screen and (max-width: 480px) { .mobile-padding { padding: 10px 0 !important; } .social-container { width: 100% !important; max-width: 260px !important; } .social-icon { padding: 0 !important; } .social-icon img { height: 32px !important; width: 32px !important; } .icon-cell { padding: 0 4px !important; } } .mj-column-per-33-333333333333336 { width: 25% !important; max-width: 25%; } .moz-text-html .mj-column-per-33-333333333333336 { width: 25% !important; max-width: 25%; } /\* Helps with rendering in various email clients \*/ body { margin: 0 !important; padding: 0 !important; -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100% !important; -ms-text-size-adjust: 100% !important; } img { -ms-interpolation-mode: bicubic; } /\* Prevents Gmail from changing the text color in email threads \*/ .im { color: inherit !important; }

[![This Week's Top Predictions](https://www.tftc.io/content/images/2025/03/yt.png)](https://youtube.com/@TFTC?feature=shared&ref=tftc.io)

[![This Week's Top Predictions](https://www.tftc.io/content/images/2025/03/insta.png)](https://www.instagram.com/tftc.io/?ref=tftc.io)

[![This Week's Top Predictions](https://www.tftc.io/content/images/2025/03/twitter.png)](https://twitter.com/TFTC21?ref=tftc.io)

[![This Week's Top Predictions](https://www.tftc.io/content/images/2025/03/primall.png)](https://primal.net/tftc?ref=tftc.io)


Official clarifications follow community concerns: non-custodial wallets remain free from restrictions. The post Google Play excludes non-custodial wallets from the new crypto app rules appeared first on Atlas21.

**_Official clarifications follow community concerns: non-custodial wallets remain free from restrictions._**
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**Google** recently backtracked on what initially seemed to be a significant policy update targeting all crypto wallets: for a moment, it appeared that the Play Store planned to ban unregistered **non-custodial wallets** in several countries, including the United States, the European Union, and the United Kingdom, starting in October. After sparking a wave of concern in the crypto community, Mountain View officially clarified that **non-custodial wallets will remain exempt** from the new restrictions [introduced](https://support.google.com/googleplay/android-developer/answer/16329703) on the **Play Store**.

The confusion arose from the publication of the updated **Google Play** [guidelines](https://support.google.com/googleplay/android-developer/answer/16329703), which will come into effect on October 29. Initially, many users and developers feared that non-custodial wallets might also be affected by the new rules. However, Google later [clarified](https://x.com/newsfromgoogle/status/1955743865144795581) the situation through its **Help Center**, specifying that _“non-custodial wallets are not in scope of Google Play’s Cryptocurrency Exchanges and Software Wallets Policy.”_

### **The policy change**

The new rules are aimed exclusively at custodial digital asset service providers. **Custodial wallet** applications, such as those provided by exchanges, will now need to obtain specific licenses to operate in over 15 jurisdictions, including the **United States** and the **European Union**.

In the U.S., custodial wallet developers will have to register as a _“money services business”_ or _“money transmitter”_ with local regulators. In Europe, registration as a crypto-asset service provider (CASP) will be required. Companies registered with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) will need to implement **Anti-Money Laundering** (AML) and **Know Your Customer** (KYC) programs.

### **Community reactions**

Despite the official clarifications, the community was not entirely reassured. Bitcoin developer **Peter Todd** expressed skepticism in a post on X:

> Google claims this is a mistake. More likely a trial balloon to gauge response.
>
> Notice how this policy will still prohibit Cashu wallets like minibits, Zeus (cashu support), Wallet of Satoshi, and future wallets using cashu to build up funds to open a channel.
>
> Not good at all. [https://t.co/muHtVwSA9m](https://t.co/muHtVwSA9m)
>
> — Peter Todd (@peterktodd) [August 13, 2025](https://twitter.com/peterktodd/status/1955756676692500544?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)

**Jacob Wittman**, legal counsel at the Plasma Foundation, [described](https://x.com/jakewittman/status/1955703181553623211) the controversy as a _“nothing burger,”_ while acknowledging that _“the policy change show that tech giants control distribution and we are still at their whim.”_

The relationship between Google Play and the digital asset sector has historically been turbulent. In 2020, the platform removed the Bitcoin Blast video game and several crypto news apps, including those from **Cointelegraph** and **Coindesk**, without providing any explanation.

The post [Google Play excludes non-custodial wallets from the new crypto app rules](https://atlas21.com/google-play-excludes-non-custodial-wallets-from-the-new-crypto-app-rules/) appeared first on [Atlas21](https://atlas21.com).


Bitcoin’s 21 million supply secures value by enforcing scarcity, tying money to energy, and preventing inflation or tampering.

Key Takeaways
-------------

![Center of Hash - Why Bitcoin’s 21 Million Supply is Perfect | Phil Geiger](https://www.tftc.io/content/images/2025/08/Phil-Geiger.webp)

Bitcoin’s fixed supply of 21 million coins is the foundation of its value, tying digital scarcity to real-world energy use through proof-of-work. Mining isn’t wasteful, it enforces monetary integrity by ensuring issuance, transaction finality, and decentralization. The difficulty adjustment creates a self-regulating system that always maintains profit incentives, while shrinking subsidies transition security costs to transaction fees through a competitive fee market. Attempts to introduce inflation would destroy Bitcoin’s core value proposition, as its strength lies in neutrality, permissionless participation, and unchangeable scarcity.

Best Quotes
-----------

“Wall Street thinks it’s dipping a toe into Bitcoin, but really it’s crossing the event horizon into a black hole.”

“Bitcoin is the very first form of money that is absolutely scarce with a fixed supply of 21 million. Nobody can create more Bitcoin.”

“Mining isn’t its own industry, it’s a tool for energy producers, like a demand-response battery that monetizes excess power.”

“The only external resource Bitcoin requires is electricity. Security scales linearly with value through the difficulty adjustment.”

“A good form of money has to be neutral. With Bitcoin, as long as you have energy and internet, you can participate without asking permission.”

“Block space is scarce by design. The bidding process for transactions ensures a fee market will always exist.”

“Inflation can never be a solution. The entire reason Bitcoin has value is because its supply is fixed at 21 million.”

“Centralization isn’t binary, it’s a spectrum. Bitcoin must decentralize in every way possible: users, nodes, miners, and ownership distribution.”

“If there’s ever a fork or bug, rational actors will always choose the version that preserves the fixed supply. That’s the social consensus.”

“Decades of economic theory debated what good money should be. Bitcoin makes it a market test, opt in voluntarily, and the consensus is clear.”

Conclusion
----------

The discussion reinforces that Bitcoin’s power lies in its immutability: 21 million is non-negotiable. Energy expenditure secures the network, decentralization distributes trust, and economic incentives ensure survival without inflation or external intervention. While risks like mining pool centralization exist, Bitcoin’s permissionless structure and market-driven consensus provide resilience. Ultimately, Bitcoin succeeds because it replaces trust in institutions with incorruptible rules, aligning all participants around one unshakable principle: absolute scarcity.

Timestamps
----------

0:00 - Paper Bitcoin Summer & Wall Street's Bitcoin Black Hole
3:28 - Bitcoin as Shock Therapy for Zombie Markets
5:14 - Introduction to Bitcoin's Economic Incentives
8:30 - Why Bitcoin's Energy Use Solves Money Printing
10:43 - Energy Demand from Block Processing & Coin Issuance
16:12 - Permissionless Energy Sales to Bitcoin Network
21:54 - The Always-Profitable Mining Mechanism
27:03 - Difficulty Adjustment & Self-Regulating Markets
32:29 - Bitcoin's Closed System Independence
40:27 - From Mining Subsidy to Transaction Fee Market
46:15 - Block Space Scarcity Creates Fee Competition
53:29 - Why Inflation Can Never Fix Bitcoin

Transcript
----------

(00:04) Bill Gyer. Paper Bitcoin summer. Summer of Phil. Which one is it? Well, every summer is summer of Phil. So, this summer I think is paper Bitcoin summer. Um, I'm I'm enjoying it quite a bit. I think it's a really unique time in Bitcoin, the Bitcoinification of Wall Street, if you will.
(00:29) It's not my my favorite topic in the world is the financialization all that, but it is pretty wild to me to see the explosion of paper Bitcoin summer. Yeah, I should have known. Yeah, I wrote the piece Bitcoin is the great defantization that there there would be some financialization of of Bitcoin before fiat ends and then true defancialization happens. But I wouldn't say I was wrong about that.
(00:56) That's just, you know, after Pierre wrote speculative attack in 2014, we should have we should have known that this was inevitable. And uh maybe that wasn't going to take this form, but it's also perfectly logical. So, I love it. Wall Street and all the kind of financial markets around the world, they feel or they feel like they're they're dipping their toe into Bitcoin right now, but Bitcoin is a black hole.
(01:15) And so, actually, they're kind of crossing the event horizon uh without even realizing it. So, I'm I'm a huge fan of all of these different products, but yeah, I think it is it is a a short time period where Bitcoin is going to be rapidly financializing before, you know, to your point, to your paper, things rapidly defancialize.
(01:33) Yeah. I I love that it's d drawing people in like Jim Chanos and that there's probably a bunch of people in Tradfi that are looking at it saying that ah this is all a scam and and what they don't realize is that the bottomless pit of fiat and the arbitragees in the fiat world is actually what's creating it.
(01:57) Um so you know if that capital was going to go to somewhere better to go to Bitcoin than some zombie company that was going to be extended just by the fiat system. Absolutely. And I was looking at a chart uh I think it was Crucius's chart of you know Bitcoin at uh $2 trillion as an asset class and then uh the different financial markets that are you know 100x the size of Bitcoin and somebody plotted all of the different uh Michael Sailor you know preferred stock products that he's launching and how it taps into these different markets. Uh and I think that's really fascinating. It's Yeah, it's just Wall Street, you know, getting
(02:31) sucked into the Bitcoin black hole. They think they're in charge, but, you know, we'll see. Yeah, it was it was interesting. I listened there was a podcast that Michael Sailor did where he was in person. the like I don't I didn't recognize guys who were interviewing him but when he he basically gave a 30inut explanation of how they they they basically unintentionally stumbled into this whole dynamic and that it was also and he connected the ideas of why Bitcoin's volatility was particularly attractive to these markets
(03:04) and and that um that it really wasn't a grand, you know, it wasn't an idea that he had when he started getting, you know, interested in Bitcoin and got orange spilled. It was something that they issued a convertible bond and then through that process realized that there was this whole arbitrage opportunity to suck in and tap more capital. So, totally.
(03:27) And I think what Bitcoin is doing right now to a lot of markets around the world, and I think you've spoken about it, you've written about this, a lot of markets are kind of zombie markets, right? they're they're running out of steam and that's why the money printing has to just continually happen because it's just like they can't they can't get the growth that they need and Bitcoin is like a shock to the system, right? It's like an EKG, right? If the if the patient is is flatlining and dying like as soon as you give a little Bitcoin exposure to a market, you see like rapid uh rapid adoption and and
(03:59) you know, not even adoption, but just like attention, short sellers, people going long, like all kinds of focus just goes right there to Bitcoin. I think it's really cool. Yeah. And that that's one thing that he also talks about with that the short sellers serve a purpose for him that they will then be buyers of his stock when they need him to be buyers of the stock.
(04:25) And so I think that uh and and that will be what we you know not that specifically but talking about the incentives of Bitcoin that create all that frenzy that ultimately create the demand for is what we we'll talk about today. And appreciate you coming on the show. This is episode four. The the first episode will actually be released next week.
(04:43) So by the time this one comes out people have gotten to listen to a few. But this this podcast is focused on mining and energy and all and the convergence of Bitcoin. and the money side of it. And the the first few episodes were were talking about mining in kind of a broad sense. The last episode we went deep on a specific strategy um in the mining ecosystem, specifically upstream natural gas, mining off of upstream natural gas.
(05:11) You're not a Bitcoin miner, are you? I'm not. You're not. I've I've done it just uh as a hobby just on a computer just to to try it out, see how it works. But unfortunately, I I rationalize myself out of becoming a Bitcoin miner. And maybe we can talk about that today. I did the same. Um but you're what you at least in my opinion what I would consider you as an expert in the economic incentives.
(05:35) Neither of us are economists, but we understand the economics of Bitcoin very well. And I think that one of the things that is easily lost in the Bitcoin mining sphere, particularly for people who are legacy energy professionals that see Bitcoin solving problems in the energy sphere, that those make sense.
(06:06) But then when they zoom out and then relook at Bitcoin and what is creating all of this demand for power, they then get reloc. So I think um and this won't be the only discussion on the incentives of Bitcoin, but I think uh or not, I think you had written an article back when we were still both at Unchained. I also think that you were my my first hire at Unchained potentially. Yeah. I mean I I I got the job, you know, in 2019.
(06:32) I just DM'd you on Twitter. I think I actually had heard you on either it was either what Bitcoin did or TFTC uh and just reached out to you and that rest is history. Yeah, we we were very close to hiring somebody else and the


There is a way to transfer money directly to a bank account by sending a BTC transaction: the Bull Bitcoin service. The post Paying to an IBAN… in Bitcoin appeared first on Atlas21.

[![](https://i0.wp.com/atlas21.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Banner-Bull-Bitcoin-ENG.png?resize=976%2C75&ssl=1)](https://app.bullbitcoin.com/registration/atlas21)

**_There is a way to transfer money directly to a bank account by sending a BTC transaction: the Bull Bitcoin service._**
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Despite it being possible to exchange goods and services in bitcoin since its early years, its adoption as a payment method remains still limited. What Bitcoin is facing, and will have to continue to face in the coming years, is the process of monetary evolution.

Today, in fact, there are still few businesses that directly accept bitcoin payments. In most cases, bitcoiners find themselves forced to convert their funds into fiat currency to be able to make daily payments. However, this barrier is starting to fade thanks to the emergence of new services.

Over the years, the market has witnessed the birth of various services specialized in facilitating bitcoin payments. Among the pioneers in the sector stands out **Bitrefill**, a platform that allows purchasing gift cards and topping up services using bitcoin directly. Over time, similar solutions have developed that allow paying for various goods and services.

Last January, when **Bull Bitcoin** extended its services to the European market, a new possibility was made available. The Canadian broker, known for its Bitcoin-only philosophy and strictly non-custodial approach, offers a solution that **allows paying any service or entity that accepts bank transfers in euros using bitcoin directly**. This means being able to make payments to suppliers, public entities, companies, individuals and even top up debit cards linked to an IBAN, all without ever having to manually convert bitcoin into fiat currency.

### **How it works**

The process for making payments through Bull Bitcoin is simple and intuitive. Here is the step-by-step procedure:

1.  Account creation

The first step consists of [registering](https://app.bullbitcoin.com/registration/atlas21) on Bull Bitcoin. The process is as follows:

*   visit the Bull Bitcoin [website](https://www.bullbitcoin.com/);
*   click on “Sign up”;
*   enter the required data (email and password);
*   confirm the email and complete the account verification.

2\. Access to the “Send fiat payments” function

Once you have logged into your verified account:

*   navigate to the main menu;
*   click on “**Send fiat payments**“;
*   this function will allow you to use your bitcoins for payments in euros to any European IBAN.

![](https://i0.wp.com/atlas21.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/901.jpg?resize=501%2C479&ssl=1)

3\. Entering recipient data

The system will require you to enter the beneficiary’s information:

*   **recipient’s IBAN**: enter the complete IBAN code of the service or person who must receive the payment or select an existing beneficiary;
*   **beneficiary’s name**: specify the exact name as registered with the bank.

![](https://i0.wp.com/atlas21.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/902.jpg?resize=519%2C460&ssl=1)

![](https://i0.wp.com/atlas21.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/903.jpg?resize=517%2C631&ssl=1)

4\. Defining the amount and completing the payment

The last step of the process is as follows:

*   **enter the amount in euros** you wish to send (Bull Bitcoin will detect the exact amount even if you send more satoshis);
*   the system will automatically calculate the bitcoin equivalent at the current exchange rate;
*   **payment reference**: add a payment description (bill, service, invoice, etc.) so that the beneficiary knows it is you paying (avoid mentioning bitcoin in the description);
*   send to the BTC/Liquid address or pay the Lightning Network invoice. The exchange rate will be locked as soon as Bull Bitcoin detects the transaction;
*   as soon as the exchange receives the funds, it will pay your beneficiary through one of its bank accounts.

![](https://i0.wp.com/atlas21.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/5.jpg?resize=451%2C403&ssl=1)

![](https://i0.wp.com/atlas21.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/6.jpg?resize=441%2C622&ssl=1)

![](https://i0.wp.com/atlas21.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/7.jpg?resize=448%2C275&ssl=1)

**The possibility of paying any service that accepts bank transfers in euros using bitcoin** directly eliminates one of the main barriers to adoption as a medium of exchange, simplifying the daily life of bitcoiners and offering the opportunity to live in the Bitcoin Standard without having to continuously resort to conversions into fiat currency. It is a real bridge between the Bitcoin ecosystem and the traditional banking system.

* * *

_Bull Bitcoin is the world’s longest-running Bitcoin-only exchange. Strictly non-custodial. Try it [here](https://app.bullbitcoin.com/registration/atlas21)._

The post [Paying to an IBAN… in Bitcoin](https://atlas21.com/paying-to-an-iban-in-bitcoin/) appeared first on [Atlas21](https://atlas21.com).


The company introduces a modular mining system and open source management software. The post Block presents Proto Rig and Proto Fleet: new mining solutions appeared first on Atlas21.

_**The company introduces a modular mining system and open source management software.**_
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**Proto**, a division of Block, Inc. led by Jack Dorsey, has announced the launch of two new products for the bitcoin mining sector: **Proto Rig**, a modular mining system, and **Proto Fleet**, free and open source management software. The presentation took place at **Core Scientific**‘s facility in Dalton, Georgia, where some Proto Rig devices are already operational.

Proto Rig differentiates itself from traditional mining hardware through a modular design that focuses on **durability** and **repairability**. Unlike classic miners, this system allows operators to replace individual hashboards without having to change the entire unit, the company stated.

![](https://i0.wp.com/atlas21.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/69.jpg?resize=693%2C473&ssl=1)

According to Block, this feature could extend hardware lifespan from 3-5 years to 10 years, with an estimated cost reduction of **15-20%** for each upgrade cycle. The system is designed to allow on-site repairs without the use of specialized tools, the company declared.

**Thomas Templeton**, Block’s hardware lead, explained:

> > “Machines break often, are hard to repair, expensive and time-consuming to upgrade, and don’t make the most efficient use of power or space. With Proto Rig, we set out to change all of that–and contribute to hardware decentralization in the process.”

From a performance standpoint, Proto Rig offers energy efficiency of **14.1 J/TH** and a hashrate of **819 TH/s**.

![](https://i0.wp.com/atlas21.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/unnamed.jpg?resize=560%2C324&ssl=1)

### **Proto Fleet: management software**

Alongside the hardware, Proto presented **Proto Fleet**, a free software platform for managing mining operations. The software integrates **monitoring**, **diagnostic**, and **maintenance** functions into a single interface. Proto Rig and Proto Fleet will offer **Stratum V2** support from launch.

Proto Fleet is distributed as open source software, making it accessible to operators of any size in the sector.

The post [Block presents Proto Rig and Proto Fleet: new mining solutions](https://atlas21.com/block-presents-proto-rig-and-proto-fleet-new-mining-solutions/) appeared first on [Atlas21](https://atlas21.com).


Michael Howell warns the liquidity cycle is peaking, debt risks are rising, and gold and Bitcoin are key hedges against monetary inflation.

Key Takeaways
-------------

![TFTC - 40-Year Wall Street Vet Warns: 6 Months Before the Bubble Bursts (Bitcoin Next?) | Michael Howell](https://www.tftc.io/content/images/2025/08/Michael-Howell.jpg)

Michael Howell warned that the global financial system is nearing the peak of its liquidity cycle, with debt refinancing risks mounting as trillions in cheap, long-dated obligations begin to roll over. The Fed and Treasury are effectively engaged in stealth yield curve control, suppressing volatility to keep the system stable, but this path risks “Japanification” and entrenched monetary inflation. With 80% of global lending collateral-based, stability in Treasury markets has become critical, while China’s aggressive liquidity injections and gold monetization signal a shift toward hard assets. Howell argued that gold and Bitcoin stand out as essential hedges, with Bitcoin’s strategic value rising as an independent, long-term safe asset outside government control.

Best Quotes
-----------

“Almost every financial crisis, if you look back, has been a debt refinancing crisis in some way.”

“In 4,000 years of recorded interest rate history, there’s no mention of zero rates, until COVID.”

“What they want is yield curve control. They can’t afford volatility in collateral markets because 80% of global lending now depends on collateral.”

“If I’m optimistic about gold, I have to be optimistic about Bitcoin.”

“What would happen if you could only invest in short-dated government debt or Bitcoin?”

“The U.S. may be the cleanest shirt in the laundry, but it’s still in the laundry.”

Conclusion
----------

Howell sees the system entering a dangerous phase where liquidity is peaking, debt pressures are intensifying, and policymakers have few tools left beyond suppressing volatility and monetizing debt. This will drive monetary inflation, erode real wealth, and make hard-asset hedges indispensable. Gold and Bitcoin, he argues, are positioned to benefit most, with Bitcoin in particular evolving from a liquidity-sensitive risk asset into a strategic safe haven in a world of accelerating debt cycles and weakening fiat credibility.

Timestamps
----------

0:00 - Intro
1:12- Big day at Jackson Hole
7:57 - Bessent’s contradictions
14:03 - Yield curve control
18:35 - Bitkey & Unchained
20:16 - AI and global liquidity cycle
35:01 - Stablecoins
38:44 - Obscura and Opportunity Cost
40:09 - Mechanics and future of liquidity cycles
46:42 - Questioning AI productivity
52:18 - China’s influence on liquidity cycle

Transcript
----------

(00:00) If you look at the last 5 to 10 years, we've labeled that the everything bubble. Fed liquidity was up 350 billion. The broad balance sheet fell by about 250. You've got liquidity and the balance sheet going in opposite directions. We're talking about taking 3 to400 billion out of money markets.
(00:18) Disconnection from financial markets and the real economy. Almost every financial crisis, if you look back, has been a debt refinancing crisis in some way. 80% of all lending worldwide now is collaterally based. Nowhere in that book is there any mention of zero interest rates. So in 4,000 years we haven't had it, but we did have it in CO. It's a form of yield curve control.
(00:37) What they'd like is JPAL to come interest rates. The US may well be the cleanest shirt in the laundry, but you know, hey, it's in the laundry. We are reaching a peak 6 months, 9 months time. We're clearly getting late in the cycle. Stable coin are a great mechanism to buy treasuries, but it basically creates a sort of virtual circle.
(00:53) So it's effectively printing money. What would happen in the world if you could only invest in shortdated government debt or you can invest in Bitcoin? Why was 2024 so depressed? The Chinese were trying to shadow a strong dollar and they couldn't do it. I'm very optimistic of gold. If I'm optimistic of gold, I got to be optimistic of Bitcoin.
(01:13) Michael How, thank you for joining me again. Big day. Yeah, big day today. Big day out in Jackson Hole. Everybody's waiting with uh baited breath to see what Jerome Pal is going to say. I was watching uh I couldn't sleep this morning. I woke up at 3:30 a.m. and just decided to get up and start working and have been watching CNBC and it's been funny watching their commentary.
(01:37) A lot of back and forth I think considering that this meeting is happening today. Um we'll post this on Monday and so I guess the pressure is on to sort of predict what Jerome Pal is going to do. How would you describe his current predicament and what he may or may not do later today? Well, I think it's it's it's clearly a difficult situation.
(02:01) You know, they uh they always say as an old Irish joke that um where they say to travelers, how do you get from here to Dublin? And the answer is uh well, if I was going to Dublin, I wouldn't be starting from here. And I think that, you know, that's pretty much what I would describe the Fed situation is.
(02:20) I mean Jerome Pal is in a difficult situation given the uh the sort of push back or aggressive push back he gets from the administration. Uh I mean that's for sure. U but I think the other thing is that they kind of painted themselves in a corner a bit. I mean on most on most counts rates should be lower than they are. I think he finds it difficult now to probably admit that.
(02:38) Um so there is some resistance but I think you can see within the FOMC uh there is a growing uh willingness I think to cut interest rates. I think given what's going on internationally and uh with rates and maybe as well what's happened lately to the dollar the rally uh the weakening in the US economy. I think there's grounds for for rates to be cut. That's for sure.
(03:01) I think the more difficult question, which is, you know, something I'm sure we're going to dig into, is really what happens to the Fed balance sheet, uh, the Fed operating system, you know, looking at longer term because they've been promising us some information about the new operating, uh, uh, procedures of the Fed for a long time now and nothing's come out. So I kind of expect or maybe maybe think that they're going to do something announce something at Jackson Hole about the new operating procedures that they've been talking and thinking about for some time now. Uh that that may come out in an
(03:31) announcement. But I think the the the more fundamental question is what happens to liquidity and really the size of the balance sheet. And I think that's relevant given the fact that if you look over the first six, seven months of the year, uh Fed liquidity, the amount of money that the Federal Reserve injects into money markets, actually was up 350 billion.
(03:59) Uh even though the overall balance sheet uh itself, the broad balance sheet fell by about uh 250 billion. So you've got liquidity and the balance sheet going in opposite directions. And that's kind of because uh there are you know other ways of injecting liquidity into the system apart from the headline balance sheet um you know number uh and that's things like the treasury general account the reverse repo program uh etc.
(04:19) And they've been actually positively buzzing and actually adding money to markets which is why risk assets have kind of done so well over the last few months. Uh the question is that if the Treasury is insisting on rebuilding that account, their account at the Fed, the Treasury General account which was forcibly run down because of the debt ceiling, if that now is rebuilt in the second half of the year, then a lot of liquidity is going to come out of markets.
(04:43) Now, that's what investors are fearing. I don't think it's going to come to that because I just don't think they're in a position where they can do that. And that's why I say I think the Fed has kind of painted itself into a corner a bit here. Yeah. in terms of choreographing or making the market aware of new operations.
(05:02) Can we dive into that in in terms of what they may or may not change or what the market is looking for them to change? Yeah, I think that a lot of the market talk is really about whether they're going to change, you know, average inflation targeting to, you know, maybe change the nuance of that.
(05:21) Could they, you know, change the symmetry in uh in that in that gold? That could be done. um you know for example I think that that's one of the things that is sort of high on the agenda as a change um there could be more technical things about um uh uh about how their operating procedures are changed I mean that that may be necessary but I would say you know one of the things that may come in and this has been mooted in terms of what the Fed has wanted to do is maybe they're going to announce that they're going to be uh a bigger buyer of Treasury bills in the market uh than
(05:52) they have been now one of the things that was suggested or has been suggested uh in speeches over recent months is that the makeup of the uh Federal Reserve's holdings of government debt the uh the SOM account, the so-called SO account is generally vested in longer duration treasuries. So things like 10-year notes for example, and that's not really um the sort of representative of the average mix of treasury debt uh out there in the market.
(06:23) uh there's as you know there's been a lot of very very short-term issuance uh operating particularly under Yelen but you know Scott Besson's continued that and so the treasury is slated to issue a lot more bills now on the one hand that's uh you know playing to this whole argument about stable coins being big buyers of treasuries in the future and they like bills sure I I go along with that but then the Federal Reserve should be matching if you like in it hold in its sr account u the average uh mix of debt in the market and the moment they're not
(06:55) uh their s account is too heavily weighted to longe


Japan’s Financial Services Agency (FSA) is preparing a reform to align crypto taxation with that of equities, paving the way for spot ETFs. The post Japan moves toward a 20% flat tax on cryptocurrencies appeared first on Atlas21.

**_Japan’s Financial Services Agency (FSA) is preparing a reform to align crypto taxation with that of equities, paving the way for spot ETFs._**
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The **FSA** is planning a tax reform that could reshape how Japanese investors approach digital assets. [According](https://www.nikkei.com/article/DGXZQOUB216I60R20C25A8000000/) to the business daily _Nikkei_, the Japanese FSA intends to submit a proposal to revise the tax code for the 2026 fiscal year. The goal is to align the tax treatment of cryptocurrencies with that of listed **stocks**.

The official request for revision is expected to be submitted by the end of August, _Nikkei_ sources report. If approved, the reform would take effect in the 2026 fiscal year.

The reform introduces a **20% flat tax** on gains from cryptocurrency trading. Currently, crypto income is classified as _“miscellaneous income”_ and subject to a progressive rate that can reach **up to 55%,** excluding local taxes.

### **Industry requests**

Crypto companies have submitted specific proposals to make Japan’s tax environment more competitive. Among them is the introduction of a **three-year carry-forward mechanism** for losses, which would allow investors to offset future profits with past losses.

### **Outlook for spot ETFs**

The new framework goes beyond tax revisions. The FSA is also working to facilitate the launch of domestic **crypto ETFs** by Japanese firms, aiming to strengthen the competitiveness of the country’s digital asset industry.

In parallel with the tax reform, the agency is preparing a bill for 2026 that would bring cryptocurrencies under the supervision of the **Financial Instruments and Exchange Act**, classifying them as _“financial products”_ rather than _“means of payment”_ regulated by the Payment Services Act.

### **First regulated stablecoin**

In a broader context of openness toward digital assets, the FSA is also preparing to approve Japan’s first **yen-denominated regulated stablecoin**. **JPYC**, issued by the Tokyo-based fintech of the same name, plans to release stablecoins worth 1 trillion yen (about $6.78 billion) over three years. The approval, expected in the fall, represents another key step in Japan’s strategy to promote crypto adoption.

The post [Japan moves toward a 20% flat tax on cryptocurrencies](https://atlas21.com/japan-moves-toward-a-20-flat-tax-on-cryptocurrencies/) appeared first on [Atlas21](https://atlas21.com).


The Philippine Congress is moving toward the adoption of Bitcoin as a national strategic asset with a proposed accumulation plan. The post Philippines: proposal for a 10,000 BTC strategic reserve with a 20-year lock-up appeared first on Atlas21.

**_The Philippine Congress is moving toward the adoption of Bitcoin as a national strategic asset with a proposed accumulation plan._**
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The **Philippines** could become one of the first nations to adopt Bitcoin as a national strategic reserve. A new legislative proposal introduced by Congressman **Miguel Luis Villafuerte** outlines a plan for the acquisition and long-term custody of bitcoin.

The [proposed law](https://docs.congress.hrep.online/legisdocs/basic_20/HB00421.pdf), called **House Bill 421**, establishes a detailed framework for creating a strategic reserve. The plan requires the Philippine central bank, **Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas**, to purchase **2,000** bitcoins annually over **five consecutive years**, thereby reaching the final target of **10,000** BTC.

The proposal emphasizes the importance of secure custody. The acquired bitcoins must be held in **cold storage**, an offline method that provides protection against cyberattacks and digital theft.

The bill requires quarterly reserve audits by independent third parties. These reports must be published online to ensure transparency. The proposal also explicitly protects private property rights, affirming that individuals and businesses remain free to buy, hold, and trade bitcoin without government interference.

The 20-year lock-up period established by the bill highlights a long-term vision that reflects confidence in Bitcoin’s future price growth. During this period, Philippine authorities will be prohibited from selling or exchanging the bitcoins, except for the repayment of national public debt.

At the end of the lock-up period, the central bank governor may sell up to **10%** of the bitcoins in any two-year period.

Congressman Villafuerte emphasized that _“the increasing significance of BTC in ensuring financial and economic prowess across continents makes it imperative for the country to take significant legislative measures.”_

According to **Bitbo** [data](https://bitbo.io/treasuries/countries/), world governments collectively hold **517,296** bitcoins, corresponding to **2.46%** of the total supply capped at around 21 million units. However, their reserves mainly come from confiscations and legal seizures.

The post [Philippines: proposal for a 10,000 BTC strategic reserve with a 20-year lock-up](https://atlas21.com/philippines-proposal-for-a-10000-btc-strategic-reserve/) appeared first on [Atlas21](https://atlas21.com).


Treasury Secretary Bessent confirms the “budget-neutral” strategy for the strategic bitcoin reserve. The post USA: no new purchases for the strategic bitcoin reserve appeared first on Atlas21.

**_Treasury Secretary Bessent confirms the “budget-neutral” strategy for the strategic bitcoin reserve._**
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

In an [interview](https://x.com/CoinDesk/status/1955985768620454098) on _“Mornings with Maria”_ on _Fox Business_, Treasury Secretary **Scott Bessent** stated that the United States will not proceed with acquiring new bitcoins through direct market purchases.

> ![🇺🇸](https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/16.0.1/72x72/1f1fa-1f1f8.png) NEW: Treasury Secretary claims on Fox Business the US "will not be buying" Bitcoin but will use "confiscated assets and continue to build that up" as a Bitcoin reserve. [pic.twitter.com/8A09BmzVYC](https://t.co/8A09BmzVYC)
>
> — CoinDesk (@CoinDesk) [August 14, 2025](https://twitter.com/CoinDesk/status/1955985768620454098?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)

No taxpayer dollars will be used to increase holdings in digital assets, Bessent confirmed. He clarified that the strategy is based exclusively on a _“budget-neutral”_ approach, using only **bitcoins seized** through legal confiscation operations. The strategic reserve will therefore grow solely through the accumulation of digital assets obtained via legal actions and seizures.

The new policy outlined by Bessent calls for the **immediate halt of bitcoin sales** from the government’s holdings, marking a shift from previous practices, when U.S. authorities tended to liquidate seized digital assets. Currently, the U.S. government’s bitcoin holdings are estimated at between **$15 billion and $20 billion** at today’s prices, Bessent said.

The Treasury Secretary also noted that gold will continue to play its traditional role as a _“store of value”_ for the American people.

The post [USA: no new purchases for the strategic bitcoin reserve](https://atlas21.com/usa-no-new-purchases-for-the-strategic-bitcoin-reserve/) appeared first on [Atlas21](https://atlas21.com).


Miljan Braticevic argues Nostr and Bitcoin offer the only path to true online sovereignty.

Key Takeaways
-------------

![TFTC - Insider Reveals UK's Secret Plan to Freeze Your Savings & Censor You! | Miljan Braticevic](https://www.tftc.io/content/images/2025/08/Miljan-Braticevic.jpg)

The episode highlights the UK’s escalating internet controls, age verification laws, VPN bans, and censorship, and their implications for personal freedom, framing open protocols like Nostr as the only real alternative. Unlike closed platforms dominated by corporations, Nostr distributes power across thousands of relays, giving users sovereign control over their identity, money, and speech. Braticevic points to innovative use cases such as Jack Dorsey’s mesh-network “Bit Chat,” AI-driven app creation, and Bitcoin micropayments, arguing that Nostr’s openness, not just censorship resistance, is the true breakthrough. He likens the ecosystem’s small but passionate user base to Bitcoin’s early days, noting that its resilience and flexibility make it uniquely suited to outlast and outperform closed networks.

Best Quotes
-----------

“Once you go down this path of trying to control everything, where does it end? We want to be free.”

“Open protocols give us that chance to fight back and resist… with closed platforms, one rule change is the end of the story.”

“We’re not fighting the existing system, we’re building a new one and enabling people to join if they wish.”

“This type of architecture is extremely resilient and hard to stop… Nostr is about building an internet worth having.”

“Nostr in my mind has no competitors. If you want a truly sovereign network where users hold the keys to their existence, this is it.”

“The killer feature of Nostr isn’t censorship resistance, it’s openness. Data can be recombined in endless ways to build experiences impossible in closed silos.”

“AI, Bitcoin, and Nostr together form an extremely exciting intersection. AI agents will need sovereign money and open protocols to function.”

“We want Nostr to be the best place for creators of high-signal, long-form content… with open monetization models that work across clients.”

“The passion of Nostr’s early adopters reminds me of Bitcoin in the early days, it’s the strongest signal that this will endure.”

“If you’re in the UK or anywhere facing these policies, get on Nostr before you need it. You already need it.”

Conclusion
----------

This episode underscores the urgent stakes of today’s digital landscape. As Western governments like the UK pursue aggressive censorship and control, the choice becomes stark: submit to closed systems where accounts and speech exist at the mercy of authorities, or embrace open protocols that guarantee sovereignty. Miljan Braticevic presents Nostr as the foundation for a new internet, one built on openness, interoperability, and Bitcoin-backed incentives. Though adoption is still small compared to mainstream platforms, the passion, creativity, and steady infrastructure growth mirror Bitcoin’s own trajectory. The episode’s core message is clear: resilience and freedom must be built proactively. By adopting Nostr, supporting open-source tools, and experimenting with these systems now, individuals and creators can prepare for a future where sovereignty over money and speech is not optional but essential.

Timestamps
----------

0:00 - Intro
0:31 - Creating freedom apps
12:29 - Who runs the relays? Not comparable to Bluesky
17:53 - Bitkey & Unchained
19:34 - Boostrapped by bitcoiners
24:47 - Primal features tease
33:52 - Obscura & Opportunity Cost
35:17 - UK going full Orwell
42:00 - AI - open source models and open data
54:23 - Nostr as marketplace - also the Great Intersection
59:49 - Looking forward over the next year
1:04:32 - Fountain
1:14:45 - Primal publisher

Transcript
----------

(00:00) Once you go down this path of trying to control everything, where does it end? We want to be free. People who like to censor and all these monstrous organizations, they're doing their thing and we're doing our thing. We're just building a new system and enabling people to join them as they wish. The majority of the internet is controlled by five corporations.
(00:20) Open protocols give us that chance to kind of fight back and resist us. The bar for usability is being set by these multi-billion dollar companies who've been at it for, you know, 10 years plus. \[Music\] Million, is it me or is the world going crazy? I guess those two are not mutually exclusive, right? But uh the world's getting crazier by the day for sure.
(00:47) Yeah, more interesting, more chaotic. Yeah, it feels like uh feels like we're we're at like a hard not a hard fork, but like a fork in the road and there's things are incredibly exciting, powerful, and optimistic. And then you have other things like uh I originally reached out was like three or four weeks ago you were on a little vacation.
(01:21) So we scheduled it for this but it was talk about the UK aid verification laws censorship and the importance of open protocols like Noster but things have just escalated since then. They want to ban VPNs now. Totally. I mean once you go down this path of trying to control everything like where does it end? You you kind of really need to uh you know close all the exits as they like to say all the escape routes. Yeah.
(01:46) Well, I mean it ends uh I don't want to smirk here but it ends typically with campsuffering mass death if you continue continue down the path. That's why it's important to leverage the tools that we have today in terms of open protocols um and the communications technology to get the message out. That's the big agreed.
(02:13) That's the big question I have is like are we at a point in human history where we have all these tools at our fingertips? Can we actually use them to prevent at least in western society the devolution into pure Orwellian socialist communist authoritarian hellscape? Well, the open protocols give us that chance, right? Like if if we're clos if we're using the legacy closed systems, we just don't have a chance, right? Like because that's a single throat to choke.
(02:47) If uh any government uh makes any new rule that forbids uh you know certain type of speech um if you're dealing with a closed platform it's the end of the story you know they'll just have to tell X or whoever you know close this down and companies need to apply comply and that's the end of it that content already exists only exists behind their kind of wall in their walled garden since they fully control it they and they certainly can comply and the governments know that.
(03:22) Uh when it comes to open protocols, I don't think we automatically win by default just because we're using open protocols. Open protocols give us that chance to kind of fight back and resist this. But there's still quite a bit of work uh that needs to be done um by a lot of people to um to win, so to speak. And I'm not like super gloomy about all of these things that are, you know, that we're seeing everywhere.
(03:50) Um, I kind of look at it more from the point of view of, hey, this is, you know, this is a test for us. This is something that's uh that's giving us an opportunity to grow, to uh step up, assert our own sovereignty uh over our online lives, over our wealth, our money, our transactions, and so forth.
(04:15) Um there are a number of us who build tools uh for people who wish to step up and use them and uh like I said we we get that opportunity and it's up to us to see how we're going to use the tools uh to assert our our sovereignty. Yeah. Somebody on the the bleeding edge of the open protocol that is Noster, what are what are some of the unique ways you've observed people not only leveraging Primal but just leveraging Noster to really stick a eye in the or needle in the eye of sensors or creating cool applications that that leverage Nostra relays in some way to create
(04:57) robust applications that that are very hard to censor. Yeah. I don't even think it's about sticking a needle in the eye of anyone, you know. It's just like we we want to uh be free. uh we you know the people who out there who would like to censor and all these you know monstrous organizations they're doing their thing and we're doing our thing.
(05:20) We're we're not necessarily fighting the existing system. We're just building a new system and uh enabling people to join them as they wish. Right. And to answer your question, lots of new stuff being built all the time. Uh a lot of it is really exciting. Um, you know, not even talk about Primal.
(05:44) So, outside of Primal, the the cool things we've seen on Nostra recently, um, is, uh, for example, Jack Dorsey's Bit Chat, uh, app, which he vibe coded over a weekend, which uses uh, Bluetooth enabled mesh network to communicate with devices that are in close proximity to you.
(06:13) close proximity meaning you know 20 30 mters maybe 100 ft or so and then you know you can so you can kind of relay messages directly uh to one another without even needing an internet connection and then when any one of these users gets an internet connection they can you know upload those signed messages to any relay and then replicate them further.
(06:40) So this is a really neat use case which I think uh this kind of network topology I think is extremely um appropriate for Nostra. It's Noster is perfect for this because the protocol is so simple and it's comprised just out of signed messages and each of these signed messages exist can exist on its own. kind of has meaning just uh each individual message on its own kind of stands uh on the firm legs so to speak so to speak.
(07:13) Uh so the more of these messages you have the more you sense you can make out of the network and uh you can broadcast them you know to those that are close to you. You can broadcast them to relays. You can index them. Index them and so forth. If they get deleted from any relays, you can repost them to other relays. This t


The country’s bitcoin reserves come mainly from mining operations, not from seizures as initially speculated. The post UAE holds $700 million in bitcoin from mining appeared first on Atlas21.

**_The country’s bitcoin reserves come mainly from mining operations, not from seizures as initially speculated._**
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

According to an [analysis](https://x.com/arkham/status/1960002768703270959) conducted by blockchain analytics platform **Arkham Intelligence**, the **United Arab Emirates** (UAE) owns around **$700 million** in bitcoin. This sum was accumulated primarily through mining activities.

> BREAKING: THE UNITED ARAB EMIRATES IS NOW ON ARKHAM
>
> The UAE’s $700M BTC holdings are now labeled on Arkham. These holdings come from Bitcoin mining operations carried out by Citadel, a public mining company majority owned by UAE Royal Group through IHC.
>
> Arkham is the first to… [pic.twitter.com/eIGut5pJXN](https://t.co/eIGut5pJXN)
>
> — Arkham (@arkham) [August 25, 2025](https://twitter.com/arkham/status/1960002768703270959?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)

Unlike other nations such as the **United States** and the **United Kingdom**, the UAE’s bitcoins do not come from the confiscation of criminal assets. Arkham Intelligence revealed in a post on X that the government’s wallets contain roughly **6,300 BTC**, all obtained through legitimate mining operations.

The main source of these bitcoins is **Citadel Mining**, a company **85%** owned by **2pointzero**, which in turn belongs to International Holding Company (IHC). IHC is **61%** owned by **UAE Royal Group**, a conglomerate controlled by **Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan**, a member of Abu Dhabi’s royal family.

In total, Arkham estimates that through Citadel, the Emirates have mined approximately 9,300 BTC over the course of their operations.

According to **BitBo** [data](https://bitbo.io/treasuries/countries/), with these recently confirmed reserves the UAE ranks sixth among state-level bitcoin holders, behind Bhutan (10,565 BTC) and ahead of El Salvador (6,280 BTC).

BitBo estimates that governments collectively hold around **517,000 BTC**, representing **2.4%** of total supply with a value exceeding **$56 billion.**

The post [UAE holds $700 million in bitcoin from mining](https://atlas21.com/uae-holds-700-million-in-bitcoin-from-mining/) appeared first on [Atlas21](https://atlas21.com).


Financial experts warn that yields on stablecoins could trigger a massive outflow of capital from traditional banks. The post Stablecoin yields: Citigroup warns of the risk of a bank deposit exodus appeared first on Atlas21.

**_Financial experts warn that yields on stablecoins could trigger a massive outflow of capital from traditional banks._**
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

According to a **Citigroup** executive, the introduction of **stablecoin yields** could spark a large-scale flight of deposits from banks, echoing what happened in the 1980s with money market funds.

On August 25, **Ronit Ghose**, head of Citi’s Future of Finance, published a report equating the potential outflows caused by stablecoin yields with the boom in money market funds in the late 1970s and early 1980s, as [reported](https://www.ft.com/content/7c4746d7-02e8-4c60-a96c-b51eb21a7bf1) by the _Financial Times_.

During that period, money market funds grew exponentially from about **$4 billion** in 1975 to **$235 billion** in 1982, surpassing banks whose deposit rates were tightly regulated. Federal Reserve [data](https://www.federalreservehistory.org/essays/glass-steagall-act) shows that withdrawals from bank accounts exceeded new deposits by **$32 billion** between 1981 and 1982.

### **The impact of stablecoins on funding costs**

**Sean** **Viergutz**, leader of banking and capital markets advisory at **PwC**, shared concerns about stablecoin yields. According to him, a shift by consumers toward high-yield stablecoins could create serious challenges for the banking sector.

_“Banks may face higher funding costs by relying more on wholesale markets or raising deposit rates, which could make credit more expensive for households and businesses,”_ Viergutz said.

### **The regulatory battle**

The **GENIUS Act** prohibits stablecoin issuers from offering interest to holders but does not extend this ban to exchanges or affiliated businesses. This regulatory framework has sparked a strong reaction from the banking industry.

Several U.S. banking associations, led by the Bank Policy Institute, have urged local regulators to close what they describe as a loophole that could indirectly allow stablecoin issuers to pay yields.

In a recent letter, the organization argued that this alleged regulatory gap could disrupt the flow of credit to U.S. businesses and households, potentially triggering deposit outflows of **$6.6 trillion** from the traditional banking system.

### **The crypto industry’s response**

The digital asset industry has not remained silent in the face of banks’ concerns. Two sector organizations have urged lawmakers to reject proposals aimed at closing the so-called _“yield loophole.”_

They warned that such regulatory changes would tilt the playing field in favor of traditional banks, stifling innovation and consumer choice in the stablecoin sector.

The post [Stablecoin yields: Citigroup warns of the risk of a bank deposit exodus](https://atlas21.com/stablecoin-yields-citigroup-warns-of-the-risk-of-a-bank-deposit-exodus/) appeared first on [Atlas21](https://atlas21.com).


Bitcoin Tipping Is Now Live on X, Powered by BitBit and Spark

500 million X users can now receive bitcoin payments instantly, evenwithout a pre-existing wallet. LOS ANGELES (CA), 8/18/2025…

_500 million X users can now receive bitcoin payments instantly, even
without a pre-existing wallet._

**LOS ANGELES (CA), 8/18/2025** – BitBit, the self-custodial social wallet that lets users instantly send and receive bitcoin directly in their browser, today announced the launch of its X (formerlyTwitter) integration, [enabling](https://lightning.news/bitcoins-lightning-network-soars/) users worldwide to exchange bitcoin tips on the platform seamlessly. The payments will be associated with X usernames, allowing anyone to receive them, even without a wallet.

The integration leverages Spark,the fastest, cheapest, most UX-friendly way to build financial apps and launch assets on bitcoin. Spark is built by Lightspark, providing open, always-on payments solutions for the Internet powered by Bitcoin: the only open, neutral network for moving value. Lightspark powers integrations with partners such as Coinbase, NuBank, Bitso, and many more to enable payments on bitcoin.

“At Lightspark, we’re working tirelessly to ensure the future of money looks like the open Internet,” said David Marcus, Lightspark’s co-founder and CEO. “Spark is built on Bitcoin because it’s the only open, neutral network for moving value. By choosing Spark, the BitBit wallet builds on this openness and proves bitcoin’s potential to empower creators and the global X community.”

While tips have been available on X since 2021, this is the **first self-custodial tipping solution** available to the public. By leveraging Spark, the fastest, cheapest, and most UX-friendly way to build financial apps and launch assets on Bitcoin, the solution eliminates the technical friction and complexity associated with scaling solutions like the Lightning Network, providing users with a seamless and intuitive wallet experience. Tip receivers will have 21 days to create a wallet to receive the money; otherwise, a refund transaction will automatically be sent back to the sender.

“It’s very important to meet people where they are rather than assume they will learn how to use new technologies,” said Felipe Servin, Founder and CEO of BitBit. “With over 500 million people already using X and most of the bitcoin-focused conversations happening there, this is the ideal place to integrate bitcoin payments for the general public.”

The extension is now live for all Chrome-compatible browsers, with mobile support and stablecoin integrations coming very soon. Install it here:
[https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/fngpibmhccdaokelgaccddiehlggihlo](https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/fngpibmhccdaokelgaccddiehlggihlo)

**About Spark**

Spark is the fastest, cheapest, most UX-friendly way to build financial apps and launch assets on Bitcoin. We’re building the Bitcoin internet. Follow on X [@spark](https://x.com/spark)

**About BitBit**

BitBit is a self-custodial social Bitcoin wallet that lets users send and receive bitcoin and stablecoins right directly in their browser. Powered by Spark, a next-gen Bitcoin Layer 2, BitBit integrates directly with X usernames for frictionless tipping, payments, and community engagement, all without sacrificing privacy or control of funds. To learn more about BitBit, visit [bitbit.bot](https://bitbit.bot/)

**Press Contact**
[press@sati.pro](mailto:press@sati.pro)


Steak ’n Shake’s Cuts Payment Fees By 50% With Bitcoin

Steak ’n Shake, said it realized a 50% reduction in payment fees compared to traditional credit cards. The…

Steak ’n Shake, [said](https://paywithflash.com/bitcoin-payments-in-retail-steak-n-shake-enterprise/) it realized a 50% reduction in payment fees compared to traditional credit cards. The chain also said it saw sales spike 10.7% after integrating bitcoin payments.

Founded in 1934, the classic American burger restaurant embraced Bitcoin payments earlier this year across its U.S. and European company-operated restaurants.

This initiative is one of the [clearest examples](https://paywithflash.com/bitcoin-payments-in-retail-steak-n-shake-enterprise/) of Bitcoin moving beyond speculative investment into practical use as a retail payment method.

**Business Drivers Behind Bitcoin Adoption**

With card processing fees continuing to climb—merchants in the U.S. paid $172 billion in 2023 alone—retailers are always looking for ways to improve efficiency.

Steak ’n Shake’s experience confirms Bitcoin acceptance translates into tangible savings, with the company reporting up to a 50% reduction in payment fees compared to traditional credit cards.

In retail sectors where net profit margins typically range from 2% to 5%, halving payment costs can significantly enhance profitability or fund reinvestment in quality, technology, or customer experience.

But cost is only part of the story. Bitcoin transactions settle faster and are immune to chargebacks, offering operational benefits. For payments operations teams, this means fewer disputes, lower fraud risk, and more reliable cash flow—advantages that can reduce overhead and administrative burden.

**Meeting Customers Where They Are**

Perhaps most compelling from a revenue-growth perspective is how Bitcoin acceptance has influenced customer behavior. On the day of launch, Steak ’n Shake accounted for 0.2% of global Bitcoin transactions.

Following the rollout, the company observed a sustained spike in customer traffic, reflecting that bitcoin acceptance meets emerging consumer expectations, especially among younger demographics.

This dynamic underscores an important consideration for retail payment strategists: enabling Bitcoin payments is both a facility upgrade and a customer acquisition strategy focused on engaging tech-savvy, high-value segments increasingly comfortable with bitcoin and Lightning payments.

**Strategic Differentiation for Legacy Brands**

Steak ’n Shake’s decision to place Bitcoin on equal footing with cash and credit cards signals a shift. By normalizing bitcoin payments as a standard option, the company has positioned itself as a future-forward brand willing to adopt emerging technologies pragmatically rather than as a marketing afterthought.

This approach is instructive for enterprises weighing digital payment innovation. Bitcoin is no longer a fringe payment experiment but a legitimate component of an omnichannel payment strategy, capable of enhancing brand equity and competitive positioning.

**Growth Metrics Affirming Cryptocurrency’s Role in Retail**

Broader market data reinforces the significance of Steak ’n Shake’s move. Crypto payment volume surpassed $1.3 trillion in 2024, with projections suggesting retail crypto transactions could exceed $4.5 trillion annually by 2030. Meanwhile, surveys show 75% of U.S. retailers aim to accept crypto or stablecoins within the next two years, reflecting mainstream momentum.

**Implications for Payments Executives**

For CFOs, CROs, CTOs, and payment strategists in retail, Steak ’n Shake presents a real-world benchmark:

*   **Cost Efficiency:** Cutting payment processing fees by half can materially impact margin in a low-margin sector.
*   **Operational Streamlining:** Faster settlements and reduced chargeback exposure improve liquidity and reduce administrative costs.
*   **Customer Engagement:** Meeting crypto-native customers where they prefer to pay unlocks new revenue streams.
*   **Brand Modernization:** Early adoption signals innovation leadership and future-proofs payment offerings.

As enterprise retail continues to digitize payments and diversify rails, the Steak ’n Shake example bolsters the argument for Bitcoin’s maturity as a commerce medium—ready to be [integrated](https://paywithflash.com/integrations/) into global payment portfolios beyond speculation and hype.

> [How Flash Enables Interoperable, Self-Custodial Bitcoin Commerce](https://lightning.news/interoperable-self-custodial-bitcoin-commerce/)


It’s not every day you hear about someone taking four round-trip flights from Dublin to Prague to buy…

It’s not every day you hear about someone taking four round-trip flights from Dublin to Prague to buy bitcoin.

Or a barber at a bitcoin castle meetup charging sats for a haircut. Or someone holding up a frozen octopus bought through a bitcoin app.

But these stories aren’t urban legends; they’re real and they’re happening through [Vexl](https://x.com/vexl), a nonprofit, privacy-first peer-to-peer trading platform.

To understand what makes Vexl different, Lightning News sat down with Vexl’s Head of Growth [Grafton](https://x.com/satsdisco?t=m586s5CCzp7JhfvC3-57_A&s=09); who shared the mission, stories, and vision behind the platform that’s quietly building circular bitcoin economies worldwide.

*   **And we began with a simple but important question: what is Vexl, and how does it stand out from other peer-to-peer trading platforms?**

_[Vexl](https://vexl.it/) is a nonprofit app that lets people buy and sell bitcoin privately with friends and friends of friends. No KYC, no middlemen, no data collection._

_What makes it different is the way it works: instead of relying on reputation scores or anonymous strangers, Vexl connects you through your web of trust or your (social graph)._

_That means you see offers from people you’re already connected to directly or through mutual contacts, which makes trading more natural, safer, and closer to how cash works in the real world._

*   **Vexl emphasizes privacy and the concept of building a “web of trust.” Could you explain why these principles are so important to the platform’s vision?**

_Bitcoin was built to be peer-to-peer cash, not a product for financial institutions. Privacy matters because money without privacy is surveillance._

_Trust matters because trading with people in your circle is how real economies grow, and that is what we have truly seen._

_I only trade with people that I am direct friends with or have mutual contacts with._

_This gives me peace of mind that I know the trade is going to go smoothly. We believe this is closer to the spirit of bitcoin than any regulated exchange could ever be._

**Memorable Stories**
---------------------

*   **We’ve heard there are some incredible stories connected to Vexl, involving horses, fish, an octopus, and even a donkey. Could you share one or two of the most remarkable experiences from the platform?**

_I mean, this is the most fascinating part of the app. Originally, we planned for it to be just for buying and trading bitcoin._

_However, we soon discovered that people wanted more. They wanted to grow local circular economies, to trade things other than bitcoin, and to earn bitcoin along the way._

_I think in the first week after the marketplace went live, we started to see offers for things like raw milk and honey, and it just grew from there until we eventually added a dedicated marketplace feature for products and services._

_You can see this now in the app — you open it and choose: I have a product and I want bitcoin, or I have bitcoin and I want a product._

_For me, one of the most remarkable stories I’ve ever heard and personally experienced was when I met a taxi driver in Dublin, Ireland._

_He told me he’d been saving his cash tips for years under his mattress and wanted a way to buy bitcoin without having to KYC on an exchange._

_As a foreigner living in Ireland, he couldn’t purchase from exchanges anyway. We swapped contacts, and he quickly found one of my friends who was willing to sell him bitcoin._

_But because he didn’t have much of a network in Ireland yet, he actually made several trips to Prague to meet one of my friends and buy bitcoin in person._

_To me, this is one of the most amazing stories because it shows how much bitcoin means to some people, and what they’re willing to do to acquire it without permission or KYC._

_I met him for coffee while he was in Prague, because I was blown away by his story. He showed me a photo of his family with his wife and three children. In the photo, his wife was holding a pregnancy test, and he said: “This is why I did it — not for me, but for them.”_

_I mean, imagine that: taking four round-trip flights from Dublin to Prague just to buy bitcoin without KYC._

_Most peer-to-peer apps require you to trade with strangers using a bank account or something that connects to your real name. But on Vexl, you always trade with people you can trust._

_For me, I knew he was a trustworthy guy, and now I always have a great taxi driver in Dublin when visiting. We remain in contact and speak often, and I would even consider him a good friend now._

![image](https://lightning.news/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/image-1024x607.jpeg "The Octopus Purchase: How Vexl Redefines Peer-to-Peer Bitcoin Trading 1")

Screenshot

*   **What’s the most unexpected or creative trade you’ve seen happen through Vexl?**

_I mean, I’ve seen a lot over the years now, but I mean, things like plumbing and heating services stick out because that is like what I want._

_I don’t want to look on the Internet for a plumber who has Google reviews and try to determine what’s real and what’s fake reviews._

_If I need one or an air conditioner repairman, I would love to be able to find one through friends and friends of friends._

_I mean, that’s basically what we do anyway, we’re all familiar with that right? I mean, we meet somebody and we share our experiences, and then we want our friends to have a good time._

_So I think one that surprised me most is recently, I was looking for a physiotherapist and had a difficult time finding one, much to my surprise, but one day I opened (vexl), and there it was low and behold, a physiotherapist offering their services on Vexl for Bitcoin and we had quite a few mutual friends._

_These are the kind of stories that I think are truly amazing. It shows people understand what is possible with (vexl) and are interested in building something different and better than what we currently have, which is gamified ratings systems full of stars and empty trust. I want a world where I am always getting quality trades with people I can trust._

*   **How do these unique trades reflect the culture of peer-to-peer bitcoin transactions?**

_Well, as bitcoiners, we believe in value for value, and I think that’s what Vexl allows us to do. When I connect with people who are connected with me through mutual friends, it’s kind of like having my little support network of people who have skills and services and who trade something that we all value with each other._

_Take Hairtoshi, for example. Recently, I was at a Bitcoin event in Germany, and fiat currency was banned for three days. The only thing that you could spend was Bitcoin._

_I got a haircut with Bitcoin, and this is absolutely part of our culture. It was one of the best haircuts I’ve ever had in my life, and I’m not joking, and what it made me realize is that this is exactly the world that I wanna live in._

_I struggle to find a good barber, and I’ve been to many, many different ones over the years, but I found the best barber at a Bitcoin event in the middle of nowhere, at an old historic castle._

_I paid 21,000 satoshi for a haircut, and I walked away satisfied. I think that this is what we all want to experience, and we all experience our whole life when asking our friends for advice._

_Well imagine not having to ask every time, you just pull up on Vexl and you see a network of people and their skills and services that are in your network and you can see how many mutual friends you have and you can vouch for each other and create a true circular economy that’s based on real experiences and trust with people that you know, but it’s all done in a way that’s private and not annoying._

_No one gets messages when you join Vexl. It’s truly a purely peer-to-peer economy that we can create with this. And by the way, if you want to follow the barber I’m talking about, his X account is_ [**_@Hairtoshi\_2_**](https://x.com/Hairtoshi_21)

**The Octopus Purchase**
------------------------

*   **There’s a fascinating example of someone buying an octopus using bitcoin through Vexl. Can you tell us the full story behind that trade?**

_I mean, this was a wild one. So I’m browsing Vexl, and I see the offer for frozen octopus. Someone, I guess, had been fishing in Croatia or somewhere else, and I couldn’t believe it was frozen octopus for sale on Vexl…. why? It had to be a joke, right???_

_But it wasn’t because a few days later, I saw a guy on Twitter holding the octopus up in his hands and saying look what I bought on Vexl._

> Tak dobrú chuť! ![😎](https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/16.0.1/72x72/1f60e.png) Máte rádi tyto potvory? ![🤔](https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/16.0.1/72x72/1f914.png) A víte, že idú kúpit na [@vexlu](https://twitter.com/vexlu?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) za bitcointy? ![😊](https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/16.0.1/72x72/1f60a.png) [pic.twitter.com/pv5eDbt3BI](https://t.co/pv5eDbt3BI)
>
> — DědaBitcoiner (@dedabitcoiner) [June 7, 2024](https://twitter.com/dedabitcoiner/status/1799051354100682988?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)

_I think we were all shocked that something like that was possible, and this is what happens. It never ceases to amaze me that people take tools and build things with them, and that’s exactly what Vexl is._

_It’s a tool. It’s an open source tool, so if someone takes Vexl even further and builds something better than we always think, mission accomplished._

_We’re not a business trying to make money; we’re a foundation trying to create tools that empower the individual with the freedom to transact, and that is what people are doing. Here is a link to the tweet:_ [_https://x.com/dedabitcoiner/status/1799051354100682988_](https://x.com/dedabitcoiner/status/1799051354100682988)_._

*   **How did the community respond to this kind of transaction, and what does it say about the possibilities that Vexl enables?**

_Well, you know your network is your net worth, so you’ll never see so


Sazmining Sees $185k Invested In Equity Crowdfunding Round Through TimeStamp

Sazmining, the renewable-powered Bitcoin Mining-as-a-Service company, has attracted over $185,000 in crowd capital. The startup opened its equity…

[Sazmining](https://sazmining.com), the renewable-powered Bitcoin Mining-as-a-Service company, has attracted over $185,000 in crowd capital. The startup opened its equity crowdfunding campaign to the public on the bitcoin funding platform [Timestamp Financial](https://invest.timestampfinancial.com/offering/sazmining/details).

The firm seeks to complete a $618,000 in funding at a $30M valuation cap pre-money. The investment vehicle of choice is a SAFE note which will convert into equity later.

According to founder and CEO Kent Halliburton, the agreed pre-money valuation was determined by taking Sazmining’s proforma financial model projecting EBITDA for 2025 and multiplying it by an Enterprise Multiple. The enterprise multiple used was 75% of the average for AirBNB, Coinbase and MARA’s enterprise multiples.

The round gives anyone the chance to own a stake in Sazmining while supporting its mission: making Bitcoin mining decentralized, sustainable, and accessible.

**Why the Raise?**
------------------

Bitcoin adoption is accelerating, with governments and businesses building treasuries around it. Sazmining believes those treasuries should begin with bitcoin mined directly from the network, not coins bought through centralized exchanges.

“Mining is the most sovereign way to acquire bitcoin,” said Kent Halliburton, CEO and Co-Founder of Sazmining. “This raise allows more people to participate in that mission and benefit from the growth of the mining ecosystem.”

**Powered by Clean Energy**
---------------------------

All Sazmining operations run on renewable energy, with active sites across North and South America as well as Europe. The company has already shown 350% year-over-year growth and aims to use this raise to expand its reach even further.

**How to Participate**
----------------------

The crowdfunding campaign is open to the public and hosted by Timestamp:

[invest.timestampfinancial.com/offering/sazmining/details](https://invest.timestampfinancial.com/offering/sazmining/details)

For those who believe in decentralization, clean energy, and stacking sats the right way, this is the moment to get involved.


Serbia and Croatia treat their water‑polo matches like a high‑stakes pool party, where the only thing hotter than the competition is the amount of popcorn the fans sneak in for the “spectacular” splash‑downs.

Serbia vs. Croatia - Men's Water Polo Gold Medal Game - Paris 2024 Highlights - Olympics


fresh testing. https://primal.net/qa the best place to test nostr!

USA vs. Serbia | Men's Basketball Semifinal | Paris 2024 Olympics


https://v.nostr.build/4R2toQGapk3sBMcP.mp4 #Plebchain 🧡 #Nostriches 💜✨🔮🫂


Hey


e

e

e

e

e

e

e

e

e

e

e

e

e

e

e

e

e

e

e

e

e

e

e

e

e

e

e

e

e

e

e

e

e

e

e

e

e

e

e

e

e

e

e

e

e

e

e

e