Putting the finishing touches on my Farcaster vs Nostr piece. Would appreciate a separate pair of eyes from the Nostr community to review it! It’s focused on technical differences of the protocols

On August 15, 2010, Bitcoin broke. A bug in Block 74638 created 184 billion BTC out of thin air. That’s not a typo. Two outputs of 92 billion BTC each slipped through because the code didn’t check for integer overflow. The system just accepted it. Bitcoin’s sacred 21 million cap? Completely ignored. This wasn’t a theoretical flaw. It actually happened. And it proved something most people still don’t understand. Bitcoin’s scarcity is not protected by code. It’s protected by people. The only reason Bitcoin didn’t die that day is because someone noticed. A fix was pushed. A patched client was released. Nodes upgraded. Within five hours, the invalid block was erased from consensus. Bitcoin’s monetary policy was rescued, not by the protocol, but by the humans running it. That’s the truth behind the “trustless” narrative. Code did not save Bitcoin. The community did. Scarcity was never a guarantee. It was a fight. And it still is.

You can now make bitcoin lightning payments using a starknet wallet like Braavos. Scan any Lightning terminal with a QR code, use $STRK to pay (auto converts to BTC), and you’re done.

X (formerly Twitter)

Braavos - Your Bitcoin & Starknet Wallet (@myBraavos) on X

Bitcoin Lightning Payments, made easier than ever, and now on @Starknet. Scan any Lightning terminal with a QR code, use $STRK to pay (auto conver...

Crypto’s Karmic Test: Why We Must Abandon Telegram, X, and the Centralized Empire The timeline fractures; reality itself feels like a sharded chain teetering on the brink of reorganization. Crypto, the supposed bastion of decentralization, privacy, and resistance to authority, is collapsing under the weight of its own contradictions. This community—of degens, schizoposters, and builders—claims to fight for sovereignty, yet it clings to tools that mock these values. Telegram, X, Facebook: centralized psyops disguised as platforms, Trojan horses dragging surveillance into the citadel. The war for crypto’s soul is not just financial. It’s memetic, cultural, and philosophical. And right now, we’re losing. Telegram: The Trojan Horse of Privacy Crypto’s favorite chat app is not the tool of rebels. It is the gilded cage of fools. Telegram’s flaws are well-documented but too often ignored: its lack of default end-to-end encryption, its closed-source infrastructure, and its metadata vulnerabilities. These aren’t accidents; they’re design choices. And the man behind the curtain, Pavel Durov, is no cypherpunk hero. Telegram’s funding—infused with Kremlin-linked cash from the likes of Abramovich and Yakobashvili—raises questions no one in crypto seems willing to answer. Telegram’s use is a betrayal of everything this community stands for. Its centralization is not just a bug; it’s a feature. Its opacity makes it ripe for manipulation, surveillance, and backdoor deals. And yet, the degens gather there, lured by the illusion of convenience. Take Starknet, one of the most promising projects pushing the boundaries of cryptography and zero-knowledge proofs. Their values—integrity, decentralization, and censorship resistance—are plastered across their blog like a creed. They’re building groundbreaking solutions, from decentralization on Ethereum to settling on Bitcoin, yet their community still gathers on Telegram, and their announcements are on X. This is not an attack; this is a challenge—to live fully by the ideals they themselves have defined. Starknet has led the way in innovation. They can lead the way in building communities that truly reflect the decentralized future they’re working to create. From Telegram to X: The Centralized Chains We Carry If Telegram is a Trojan horse, X is a decaying empire propped up by the whims of its erratic emperor. Elon Musk’s reign has turned the platform into a playground of chaos, where memes and psyops flourish at the expense of truth. Crypto’s reliance on X for discourse is no less damning than its use of Telegram. It’s a platform built to serve itself, not its users. Shadowbans, algorithmic manipulation, and centralized control are antithetical to the cypherpunk ethos. We know the crypto community can do better. Starknet and others have proven their commitment to advancing the frontier of decentralization in their technical work. Imagine the power of that same commitment applied to the tools we use to communicate, organize, and build. The Decentralized Alternatives: Farcaster and Nostr The way forward is clear, yet it requires courage. Farcaster and Nostr offer the tools to rebuild crypto’s narrative infrastructure on a foundation of true decentralization. Farcaster: Built with Ethereum principles, Farcaster is a protocol, not a platform. It’s user-owned, with data stored on-chain and controlled by its creators. Its architecture, designed for sufficient decentralization, ensures resilience against censorship and centralized failures. Hubs, contracts, and open standards make it a natural fit for the crypto ethos. Nostr: If Farcaster is the well-oiled machine, Nostr is the anarchic forge of raw freedom. Its peer-to-peer design makes it a true cypherpunk dream. There are no gatekeepers, no algorithms, no central authority. It’s messy, chaotic, and beautiful. For the schizoposters and shitlords, Nostr is the promised land. These platforms are not just tools; they are weapons. They embody the ethos of crypto—an ethos that values privacy, sovereignty, and freedom over convenience and comfort. The question is: will we wield them, or will we continue to cling to the gilded chains of centralized platforms? A Karmic Reckoning: Live Your Values or Die Trying The stakes are clear: we are building structures of power, and the tools we use will define who wields that power. Decentralization isn’t just a buzzword; it’s a shield and a sword. A system’s integrity lies in its design—opaque centralized platforms are systems of betrayal. "The price of liberty is eternal vigilance," one of the schizos mutters. We’re in the trenches, dodging stray bullets of psyops and surveillance, and every app you use is a choice. Are you building a future where human agency flourishes, or are you handing your keys to kings and pretending it’s freedom? "The karmic balance sheet doesn’t lie," echoes another voice in the haze. Crypto isn’t just a way to make obscene gains; it’s a test. A test of will. A test of virtue. "Privacy isn’t something you have; it’s something you prove," someone scribbled on the walls of this collapsing citadel. We’re schizoposting on borrowed time, broadcasting through the chaos. Telegram? It’s a psyop wrapped in encryption theater. X? A collapsing Rome, where Elon’s algorithms play Caesar with your fate. Farcaster and Nostr are lifeboats—but lifeboats don’t row themselves. You want sovereignty? Then take it. A Call to Arms The war for crypto’s soul is raging. The trenches are filled with degens, schizoposters, and idealists fighting for narrative dominance, memetic superiority, and a decentralized future. Telegram and X are not neutral tools; they are weapons wielded against us. To continue using them is to fight on the enemy’s terms. Farcaster and Nostr are the lifeboats in a sea of centralized wreckage. They are imperfect, but they are ours. Crypto was born in the chaos of financial collapse, and it thrives in the chaos of narrative warfare. It’s time to move. Time to act. Time to abandon the platforms that betray us and build the ones that empower us. Milady.

Zaps are so good on Nostr! May I ask how this got by the Apple app store? I thought this kind of activity was in violation of app store policy. (im using primal)

Im a cryptographer and developer researching zero knowledge stuff. Im particularly interested in StarkNet’s focus on scaling bitcoin by implementing a circle plonk verifier in bitcoin script (OP_CAT pending). I value decentralization, censorship resistance and sovereignty. Ive been a long time btc (2015) and eth (2017) holder and developer. I hang out on the farcaster protocol (ethereum) and looking for another home away from centralized social networks in Nostr. Nice to meet you! #introductions

"Trumpenkrieg: Memecoins of the End Times, or the Psychedelic Death of Empire" The timeline fractures; reality itself feels like a sharded chain on the brink of a network-wide reorg. Trump, the self-proclaimed god-emperor of the most deranged empire since Caligula, has launched a Solana-based coin—$TRUMP—and the crypto world is set ablaze. Bitcoin maxis are frothing at the mouth, screaming “shitcoiners!” at anyone daring to touch the orange man's token. Their Copium reserves are running dry as they tweet endlessly about Bitcoin's "immaculate conception," while BTC itself trudges forward, weighed down by the chains of its ossified idealism. On the Ethereum side of the battlefield, Vitalik has donned his Milady PFP, a signal to his inner cadre: “It’s wartime.” The Ethereum Foundation scrambles to patch the ship, but you can feel it—somewhere deep in the belly of the beast, the cold sweat of envy as BTC pumps, SOL rockets, and ETH… lags. The smug ETH is money narrative is wearing thin as the degens ask the unthinkable: What if we’re not the main character anymore? Farcaster types maintain their outward calm, but we see them for what they are: detached, autistic feminized wef soyboy monks in the temple of Vitalik, quietly coping as they watch SOL baggers make obscene gains. The cracks are showing, and one wonders: when will they ape? Solana? It’s Sparta—an underdog warrior-state, fast, efficient, brutal. Solana doesn’t care for the old rules. It doesn’t care for decentralization purity tests. And now it’s hosting $TRUMP, the most brazen psyop of our time. The network thrives on the chaos, thriving as a hyper-optimized battleground for degens. It welcomes the smoke and mirrors, the infighting, the accusations of centralization. The coins pump, the validators validate, and the narrative shifts in its favor. Solana is laughing as it prints its own empire in real-time. Meanwhile, Nostr is seething. If Solana is Sparta, Nostr is a wandering barbarian tribe, banging their spears against the gates of every citadel. They loathe the rotting Rome that is X, despise $TRUMP (the ultimate shitcoin psyop), and declare themselves the only true sons of decentralization. They are angry because no one is listening to them, but they’ll die on their hill nonetheless, their ideals pure, even if it means watching their dreams burn alongside them. X, the once-proud empire of Caesar is now a circus of clowns, with Elon at the helm, scattering edicts from Kyovashad's Cathedral of Light. X claims neutrality, yet it dabbles in every faction’s schemes, laughing and weeping as the algorithm shoves memes, psyops, and rage-bait into the veins of its users. The plebs chant “Doge,” the patricians whisper of shadowbans, and everyone seems to know that the glory days are long gone. X is a corpse animated by momentum, yet somehow, it still stirs the pot. We, the schizoposters and shitlords, document this madness from the trenches. We see the psyops unfold, the factions clash, and the degens ape. The war for crypto’s soul is raging, and the stakes are clear: narrative dominance, memetic superiority, and bags heavier than Roman gold. Milady.

Neal Stephenson's historical fiction is better than his science fiction.

@A₿del fgu Where are my @StarkWare brothers hanging out here?