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MUSQET
musqet@vlt.ge
npub1musq...v5kr
Bitcoin-first payments company on a mission to make merchant Bitcoin payments mainstream. Securely accept payments in store or online and receive Bitcoin from anywhere in the world.
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MUSQET 2 years ago
An Analysis of #Bitcoin ’s Use in Illicit Finance. Michael Morell, a former acting Director of the United States CIA, investigated #Bitcoin ’s (and other crypto-currencies’) role in illicit activity. What did he find? • Bitcoin use in illicit activity is far less than many people assume. • It is likely a significantly smaller share of the bitcoin-economy than illicit use of dollars are vs global GDP. • Claims about the use of Bitcoin in illicit finance are vastly overstated. • Illicit activity among all cryptocurrencies as a percent of total cryptocurrency activity from 2017 to 2020 was less than 1%. • For Bitcoin specifically, CipherTrace estimates that illicit activity makes up less than 0.5 percent of total transaction volume. Taken together, this report suggests that the illicit use of cryptocurrencies in general and Bitcoin in particular, as a share of total market activity, is certainly not higher than it is in the traditional banking system and is most likely less. https://cryptoforinnovation.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/An-Analysis-of-Bitcoins-Use-in-Illicit-Finance-By-Michael-Morell.pdf
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MUSQET 2 years ago
Yesterday evening german politician Joana Cotar MP @JoanaCotar spoke out in the Bundestag against the Digital Euro - whilst wearing a #Bitcoin  shirt. Video and English transcript below. "Madam President, ladies and gentlemen. Nobody needs the digital euro. Not the banks, not the  companies and certainly not the citizens. Anyone who wants to pay electronically is already doing so  today. Those who want to preserve their privacy use cash. Anyone who has had enough of fiat money  and is concerned with sound money has bitcoin in their wallet. Nobody needs the digital euro except the ECB and politicians who have something else in mind. Namely the total surveillance of citizens. I know, a lot is promised: data protection, everything secure. Nobody  has any intention of spying on anyone. This is all as credible as the great promises: When the euro was introduced, no bailouts, three percent  rule, ban monetary state financing. Today the ECB does nothing else. And the Maastricht Treaty is just  paper. Today the ECB promises the highest data protection standards for the digital euro and tomorrow every  transaction will be monitored and citizens will be completely transparent. In China, people are very  effectively controlled with the digital central bank money, those who behave in accordance with the state have access to the money, those who don't are unfortunately out of luck. It's called Social scoring and with the digital euro and it's also possible here without any problems, just  like state control. A flight booking - CO2 budget used up, donating to unapproved organizations is out of  the question. Eating unvaccinated like in a pandemic - the money is not released, a digital nightmare.  And that's why we don't need a binding vote on the how - we don't need the entire digital euro at all.  And that's exactly what the German government needs to fight for. Thank you very much." H/T @Dennis
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MUSQET 2 years ago
CEO of #Bitcoin miner Marathon Digital explains how his company is testing the capture of methane from landfill gas (LFG), and using it to reduce electricity costs. Yet another capability made possible by Bitcoin's unique system architecture.
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MUSQET 2 years ago
How is the #bitcoin mining industry innovating amidst rising energy costs and environmental concerns? In her article for Forbes, @Susie Violet shows that: - Bitcoin miners are adopting advanced cooling solutions, like immersion cooling, to reduce environmental impact and enhance efficiency. - These technologies are saving energy and extending the life of mining equipment. - Excess heat from mining is being repurposed for agriculture or fed back into the power grid, turning waste into revenue. - Strategic relocation to areas with cheaper, renewable energy is bolstering profitability and sustainability. - Bitcoin miners are partnering with energy utilities to stabilize power grids, providing flexibility in energy supply and demand. - Techniques like 'underclocking' and 'overclocking' are optimizing energy consumption for mining operations. - Despite regulatory challenges, the industry remains committed to combining profitability with sustainability. Bitcoin isn't just sound money - it is on the brink of becoming a strategic infrastructure component in the global energy grid. https://www.forbes.com/sites/digital-assets/2023/11/06/the-green-frontier-bitcoin-minings-path-to-sustainability-and-profitability/
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MUSQET 2 years ago
- 582,000 users🧍 - 70 million notes 📝 - 140 million events 📣 - 33 million public keys 🔑 - 2 million (#BTC ) zaps⚡️ Maybe these sovereign comms and sovereign money folks are onto something after all... image
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MUSQET 2 years ago
In the last two years, the #Bitcoin Lightning network has achieved astonishing growth. - Nearly $1bn routed annually - Over 1,000,000 active monthly users - Average Tx size of ~45k sats / $11.84 - allowing Bitcoin to enable low-value payments. More details in this excellent report by River. 👉 image
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MUSQET 2 years ago
"Our existing financial system is a mirage of wealth and liquidity, sustained by an ever-expanding money supply. #Bitcoin emerges as the ultimate shield against the inevitable reckoning that will shatter this illusion." ~ Theo Mogenet An excellent piece by Axoim Capital exploring how #Bitcoin can remake the global financial structure, and be the best option even for short-term cash holdings. 👇
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MUSQET 2 years ago
#Bitcoin’s ability to enable cross-border payments + remittances provides a lifeline for people with limited access to traditional banking services. A new report by the BIS now suggests that its use for those purposes has been underestimated.