Vibe coding is the most positive experience ever.

Many have heard about @BitcoinEkasi and the work being done there, but not many have heard the story that started it all - The Surfer Kids. Hermann talks about how this all began and how an informal township on the southern tip of Africa is showing that bitcoin is every day money.

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Straight, No Chaser • Bitcoin Ekasi - From Surfboards to Satoshis: How Hermann Vivier Built a Bitcoin Economy in South Africa • Listen on Fountain

The secret to true Bitcoin adoption isn't what you think. Meet Hermann Vivier, whose remarkable journey shows how Bitcoin transforms communities wh...

I swear, it's easier to run a lightning node on a Raspi Pi, than it is to use Linex. Linex has been around for 33 years and just installing an app is a hassle. As a freedom tech, non-dev, enthusiast I'm really trying here. But having to copy and paste lines of code to get a basic app to work?! What bitcoin devs have achieved in15 years is incredible. Nostr too. This is how we win. Keep on coding guys and gals. The rest of us desperately need you.

I'm struggling to understand how auto-correct works. I thought these things were supposed to learn your messaging style and get better with time. No matter how many times I type 'Ill' it does not correct it to I'll. I always have to go back and manually change it. The same for 'I'm', Im is not even a word. I also get numbers added into my words - I know that's my fault, but why the phone thinks that a word and just accepts it is beyond me. The one time I do type an unusual word - Name of a company or product that has unusual spelling - autocorrect will insist on changing it so something else. And sometimes I get whole sentences that make absolutely no sense. It's like a total fail, on both side of the scale.

The Utility of Bitcoin I speak to many business owners about how bitcoin could be useful in their businesses. A common response is ‘but, what’s the utility value of bitcoin? What makes it valuable? I can’t see it or touch it.’ I enjoy this question because it means the person asking is trying to think of bitcoin as money, which is exactly what it is. But because the money everyone is used to working with has a physical aspect in the cash of cash, paper notes or coins, or gold & silver which has commercial applications too, this can make it hard to apply the same thinking to bitcoin. The answer to the question about utility value to is understand what bitcoin does: Bitcoin is a protocol that has a higher network uptime than any financial institution, bank, reverse bank, trading desk, etc. Bitcoin is issued every 10 minutes together with the new block of transactions added to the blockchain. Transaction blocks (the blockchain) cannot be altered. The full issuance schedule of bitcoin is already known from now until the last bitcoin is issued in over 100 years from now. Bitcoin is open source, and can be verified by anyone. Bitcoin can also be used by anyone, anywhere in the world, and at any time of the day. So, what am I saying here? Bitcoin is certainty. And who values certainty? Well, EVERBODY. The international businesses want to know they can invest in a foreign country at a large scale without having laws change, policy changes, wars, regime changes, etc that could affect their investments. Countries want to know that their trading partners can be relied upon to honour trade agreements. Financial sectors want stability. They want to know that no sudden changes to laws and regulations can be expected. Local businesses want to know that the tax laws and labour laws won’t change overnight, and that the price they paid for materials last month is the same price they can expect to pay this month. Citizens want to know the price of fuel won’t double overnight, or the price of food. Or that their savings and investments won’t be nationalised. Financial markets price in certainty. See how quickly stock exchange indexes adjust to even a rumour or hint of uncertainty – think tariffs for a recent example. So that is the utility value of bitcoin. Absolute certainty, all the time. It’s like building your house on the proverbial rock, as opposed to building on the shifting sands. Name one other thing that we depend upon to make our living and raise our families that that can give you that level of certainty. In a world that we know is changing, and more rapidly all the time, for the first time in human history we have certainty. Absolute certainty, forever.

@MoneyBadger legends strike again. Just paid my Temu customs invoice usin bitcoin! No more putting credit card details at risk. Absolutely made my day.

Bitcoin meetups are becoming the places to go!

Core 29 no longer the top version. Gap to Knots is tiny. Very interesting

So, only 5 episodes in and we have hit position no 158 in South Africa! Rock On!!

New episode just landed! Robert Botha, with 18 years in the diplomatic service, shares insights on global challenges and his hopes for his new-born granddaughter's future in a complex world.

Fountain

Straight, No Chaser • Robert Botha - From Embassy to Family: A Diplomat's Letter to His Granddaughter • Listen on Fountain

Robert Botha, with 18 years in the diplomatic service, shares insights on global challenges and his hopes for his newborn granddaughter's future in...

The first of our Monthly Round-Up episodes, where we cover highlights over the past 30 days in the Bitcoin space. This is all about Bitcoin, so strap in and enjoy. • Debating whether the Bitcoin four-year cycle will break this time around with ETFs now in the picture • Examining in-kind redemption applications for Bitcoin ETFs and whether they're truly meaningful • Discussing El Salvador's recent headlines about presidential term extensions and potential journalism crackdowns • Exploring the reality of quantum computing threats to Bitcoin after IBM's 5-bit encryption breakthrough • Analyzing the potential of Jack Dorsey's new BitChat app for disaster relief and mesh network communication • Questioning why we continue putting faith in political figures rather than following Bitcoin's "rules, not rulers" ethos • Contemplating how technologies like mesh networks might become mainstream without requiring disaster conditions

Fountain

Straight, No Chaser • Monthly Roundup 1: The Monthly Bitcoin Roundup Makes Its Debut • Listen on Fountain

We kick off our new monthly Bitcoin current affairs series where Nikolai, Herman, and Gavin discuss the most significant developments in the Bitcoi...

When toilet paper no longer has to be locked away like Gillette razor blades, maybe, just maybe there is still hope in South Africa

Shout out to @MoneyBadger and @BootleggerCC for enabling bitcoin payments at all their stores. Had fun with the family over breakfast

www.bootlegger.coffee are the latest retail chain to accept bitcoin in South Africa. Powered by MoneyBadger, the same guys behind Pick 'n Pay's bitcoin project. If you have a business, make sure you don't find yourself miles behind when the dust settles.

What a great conversation with one of the absolute best thinkers today! @Jeff Booth shares his thesis on the deflationary force of technology and how Bitcoin enables the first global free market that can potentially transform our economic paradigm. He explains why the natural state of a free market is deflation as entrepreneurs compete to provide more value, leading to falling prices, while our current inflationary monetary system works against this natural abundance. This is especially relevant for Africa where oppression, corruption and poor infrastructure is a millstone around the necks of it's people. Finally, grassroots solutions are helping people out of the mess. This freedom.

Fountain

Straight, No Chaser • Jeff Booth - Freedom Through Technology Creates a World of Abundance • Listen on Fountain

Jeff Booth shares his revolutionary thesis on the deflationary force of technology and how Bitcoin enables the first global free market that can po...

Private property rights form the foundation of human freedom, enabling individuals to build generational wealth and secure their economic independence. David Ansara, CEO of the Free Market Foundation, shares how property ownership transforms lives through their Kaya Lam project, which has provided over 18,000 title deeds to rightful homeowners in South Africa.

Fountain

Straight, No Chaser • David Ansara - Land, Liberty, and the Right to Own • Listen on Fountain

Private property rights form the foundation of human freedom, enabling individuals to build generational wealth and secure their economic independe...

Want to know what's making a real difference in people's lives? @BitcoinEkasi @BitcoinWitsand

South African Business Matters - Unite. Engage. Progress. Join the conversation!

How Ekasi, Witsand, and Beyond Are Reshaping Commerce - South African Business Matters

The South African retail sector has a small but tenacious newcomer to the world of payment solution options. Amidst economic instability, currency ...

These headlines, in the last few days, highlight that bitcoin is no longer the ''fringe''. It is drawing the attention of governments, mortgage lenders, and the Federal Reserve in the USA. South African businesses can access the bitcoin protocol just as easily as any of these organisations, and it's just as easy for the man in the street. If you are even curious about what that can mean for you, give us a shout.

Why privacy is important. Great conversation with about how you can keep your stuff private, and choose what you reveal to the world. Listen to the full episode for more. jordan@nostrplebs.com @ATL BitLab

Fountain

Straight, No Chaser • Ivo Vegter - The Economic Philosophies of Milei and Trump: Lessons from Argentina's Free Market Experiment • Listen on Fountain

What happens when countries truly embrace free market economics? In this thought-provoking conversation with columnist and economic commentator Ivo...

Companies holding bitcoin treasuries now number 240 from around the world, as of 23/6/2025 This has increased by 26 companies in the past 30 days, which come to over a 10% increase in 30 days. The amount of bitcoin held by these same companies is 3.45 million bitcoin, which at today’s price of $102 000 USD has a total value of $351.9 Billion USD This phenomenon has been steadily increasing, unabated, for the past 6 years. Remember, these are companies that are both privately owned and public companies. All companies are accountable to their shareholders and expected to make profits, and then reinvest those profits to ensure future growth and sustainability. So why would they be converting their cash reserves into bitcoin? Let’s look at the bitcoin price movement over the past 6 years. In Jan 2019 the bitcoin price was $3693 USD In Jan 2025 the bitcoin price was $93595 USD This is a return of 2434% over 6 years, or 405.7% per year (year on year). Of course past performance is no indication of future returns, but 26 companies in the past 30 days have decided that this is worth not just investigating, but investing in by putting some skin in the game. Everybody has an opinion about bitcoin; from the haters, to the indifferent, to the curious, to the maxi’s. But ‘Words are Wind’ to quote Game of Thrones, and it may be worth paying more attention to the people and their companies that offer their opinion in the form of money invested. Reference: bitcointreasuries.net, coinkite.com