I wrote about the companies getting onto the Bitcoin standard - accepting Bitcoin, and more and more, paying their employees in Bitcoin, and putting their reserves in Bitcoin while spending fiat as an operating flow. Nostr helped me put together more members of this list! https://www.forbes.com/sites/digital-assets/2024/07/16/companies-are-getting-onto-a-bitcoin-standard/ CC: @npub126nt...e9ll, @npub1cwne...raju, @npub1spyz...5j7y, @npub1az9x...m8y8, @npub1wu4a...3vw0, @npub17u5d...t4tp @npub1du6s...yf3c and the many Nostr peeps that help put this together.

I wrote an overview article on the latest on the Digital Yuan/e-CNY for Forbes. Summary: not a ton of adoption, but plenty of reasons for concern, as China continues to integrate the digital Yuan/CBDC with other countries. https://www.forbes.com/sites/digital-assets/2024/07/15/a-2024-overview-of-the-e-cnydigital-yuan/

me, interacting with Bitcoin topics via in-person BitDevs vs. me, interacting with Bitcoin topics via X/Twitter

This is probably the chart I spend the most time thinking about. You can fit a lot into this bad boy: history, industrial policy, food policy, geopolitics, defense, energy usage, compute (including Bitcoin), monetary policy etc. The big upshot is that much of the prosperity we see around us, and the number of people on the planet are due to a more than 9x increase in the amount of energy consumption from the 1940s to now. Can we maintain that energy growth going forward?

Our World in Data

Global primary energy use by source

Measured in terawatt-hours of total energy supply.

Gotta give some love to Node Academy - thanks to @npub1spyz...5j7y for putting this together. The most comprehensive and easiest guide to get your own Lightning node running and truly control your own payments and "be your own bank."

Node Academy

Node Academy

Node Academy is an initiative of Vancouver Bitcoiners to help enthusiasts getting started with their own Bitcoin Lightning Network node. It is part...

Working on an article for Forbes, does anybody know cool businesses (especially non-Bitcoin oriented ones) that take Bitcoin as payment - would love to incorporate as many as possible.

The review I've been looking for has finally come in. Thank you @npub1zqsu...cqrs for communing with the elders in Zhongnanhai, Communist Aftermath version.

I wrote a review of Resistance Money on Forbes. Overall, I recommend it for every bookshelf, and I think it fits a new era of deeper Bitcoin books on every topic, from its history to its geography. https://www.forbes.com/sites/digital-assets/2024/07/10/resistance-money-a-review-on-the-philosophy-of-bitcoin/ CC: @npub1yezu...awc7

I wrote about the mainland Chinese who are using Nostr, educating each other how to use it, to talk about their daily lives and other uncensored thoughts. Hattip to @jb55 as always for his stories and anecdotes, and @npub13v47...l3l8 for helping me carve a path to getting this data.

Would Mao hold bitcoin?

The Mainland Chinese Using Nostr To Post Uncensored Thoughts - Would Mao hold bitcoin?

Perhaps it’s a network made of separate relays, run by individuals looking for censorship-proof communications, that has given the most genuine g...

Is anyone using Nostr Nests consistently? I'd love to explore hosting more content there.