Bitcoin's Faustian Bargain - #402
TL;DR - Ross walks. Big money enters—strings attached. The Bitcoin-Dollar is here.
Reader,
2025 started strong.
Ross walks free. The fog lifts. New paths emerge.
Let's dive in.
The Insight
Strong narratives come from weak ideas.
Kubrick said:
"If you can talk brilliantly about a problem, it can create the consoling illusion that it has been mastered."
Bitcoin is full of this.
Many talk. Few act. Experts say much, but reveal little.
Everyone—me included—is selling you something.
"Don’t trust. Verify." We take it for granted.
People are complex. Economics, more so.
“Muddy waters make it easy to catch fish.”—Chinese Proverb
Don’t get caught.
Toolkit
Bitaxe
Gifted one. Pocket-sized Bitcoin miner. Open-source. Affordable.
Will it mine?
Plugged in. We’ll see.
Learn more: https://bitaxe.org/
Lessons From The Road
Gave a workshop.
Talked about living on Bitcoin. People listened. Had questions.
Felt like a fraud. It’s just how I live. Not perfect. Not pure. But it works.
Invited to dinners. Podcasts. Private lessons. One thing’s sure: People want to know.
Bitcoin education is bad.
Not for lack of trying. Just lacking. Most talk numbers. That’s it.
At a private dinner, someone asked: "Where can I learn more?"
"Use your bitcoin."
Her face went blank.
I explained: If all you do is buy, you learn nothing. Spend it—on anything—you’ll know more than 90% of so-called experts.
By using, you learn. By spending, you understand.
"But holding is using!"
No. Holding is restraint. Using is action. Words have meaning.
"The greatest obstacle to living on Bitcoin is expectancy, which hangs upon tomorrow and loses today. You are arranging what lies in the government's and Fortune's control and abandoning what lies in yours. What are you looking to? To what goal are you straining? The whole future of Bitcoin lies in uncertainty: live on Bitcoin immediately."—Marcus Aurelius (edit).
"If you want to be a writer, write."—Epictetus
If you want to understand Bitcoin, use it.
Signals
Freed Ross
A promise made, a promise kept. Trump freed Ross. Political, not altruistic. A vote, not a favor.
Take the win.
Official announcement: https://freeross.org/
Strategic Crypto Reserve
Trump announced it. Bitcoiners furious—"Bitcoin only!" Betrayal, they said. Confusion led to selloffs. Buy the rumor, sell the news.
Shows who's paying attention.
Crypto whales donated. Many don’t get it.
Power dynamics matter.
Further reading:
The Faustian Bargain
USDT. Taproot-minted. Lightning-enabled. Bitcoin-powered. "It all comes back to Bitcoin," said Sparks.
Big money flows—with strings attached.
Webb and Goodwin warned. Solari Report demonstrated. Living on Bitcoin pointed it out.
The Bitcoin-Dollar is here.
The dollar strengthens. Global demand rises.
Benefit or bust? You decide.
Memepool
Chlorine cleaned memes.
Conclusion
Politics is dirty. Trade-offs everywhere. What's a pleb to do?
Remember: No one’s coming...
Build, and exit.
Rare Passenger / block height 881 856