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Nostr: The Importance of Censorship-Resistant Communication for Innovation and Human Progress

Introduction

In an economic landscape increasingly characterized by monopolization and the dominance of institutionalized credit, innovative technologies and protocols are emerging that have the potential to change the foundations of our economy and society.

At the forefront of this are Bitcoin and Nostr—two groundbreaking protocols that together can usher in a new era of innovation, free from the financial constraints of the fiat system. This article examines the history and mechanisms that enable Bitcoin and Nostr to act as catalysts for innovation and human progress.

Innovation under Hard Metal Currencies

In the days of hard metal currencies, especially during the gold standard, innovation was primarily driven by individuals and private companies who were independent of the state apparatus and institutional lenders. Some of the greatest breakthroughs in science, philosophy and economics were made by private entrepreneurs.

In 600 BC, a Greek named Thales observed that amber, when rubbed with silk, attracted feathers and other light objects. He discovered static electricity. The Greek word for amber is ‘ëelectron’, from which the words ‘electricity’ and ‘electron’ are derived.The Greek philosopher Plato (ca. 428-347 B.C.) is widely considered to be the first person to develop the concept of an atom, the idea that matter is made up of an indivisible component on the smallest scale. He also wrote a number of important books on science, philosophy, economics, politics and mathematics. Wei Boyang was a Chinese writer and Taoist alchemist of the Eastern Han dynasty. He is the author of The Kinship of the Three (also known as Cantong Qi), which is considered the earliest book on alchemy in China, and is noted as one of the first individuals to document the chemical composition of gunpowder in 142 AD.The car was invented in 1886 by German engineer and automobile manufacturer Carl Benz, who was inspired by Nikolaus Otto, who invented the first gas engine in 1861.The Wright brothers are considered the inventors and the first to fly a powered airplane on Dec. 17, 1903, in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.

The creativity and ingenuity of the Wright brothers has been well documented: Wilbur Wright lying on his glider shortly after landing, demonstrating their earlier experimentation with non-engine models that laid the groundwork for their future innovations in powered flight. The skid marks are visible behind him and in the foreground the skid marks of an earlier landing; Kitty Hawk, North Carolina (Source).

The funds for the brothers’ ventures, including equipment, travel, and their testing site in Kitty Hawk, came from the bicycle shop they operated. They apparently spent just $1,000 over four years (1899-1903) to develop three flying machines, two of which had no engines. The Wright brothers lived during a time when the U.S. was on a gold standard, and saving allowed entrepreneurs to accumulate enough capital to finance innovations, giving them the time and resources needed to pursue their pioneering work in aviation. The ancient Greeks, such as Thales and Plato, also operated under hard metal currencies, contributing to a stable economic environment that fostered philosophical and scientific advancements.

Similarly, Wei Boyang exemplified the pursuit of knowledge during the Eastern Han dynasty in China, which experienced fluctuating monetary conditions, including periods of stability that contributed to intellectual growth in various fields.

Just as the Wright brothers benefited from a time when saving in sound money allowed individuals to focus on their innovations, today’s private entrepreneurs, startups, and bicycle shop owners find it increasingly difficult to earn enough to take the time to think about innovations and finance their implementation.

Inflation has significantly driven up labor and material costs, particularly in industries like aviation and automotive, where advanced technology and greater material requirements demand extensive research and development. As a result, entrepreneurs and freelancers often rely on third-party loans. The average cost of developing a Mercedes car today, for example, is more than two billion euros.

How the Fiat System Blocks Human Progress

The fiat-based monetary system has made it increasingly difficult for innovation to emerge without institutional funding. Monetary inflation erodes purchasing power, limits financing options, and creates obstacles for new ideas to flourish. This is problematic because the institutions that typically fund innovation, including large venture capital firms, banks, and universities, are mostly dependent on the state in one way or another (either because they are regulated by law or because they receive government funding) and therefore have an incentive to support projects that ‘follow’ the current political climate.

The result is a banal misallocation of capital and social stagnation, as can be observed in most countries around the world.

Venezuela is an extreme example of what state control of the economy can lead to. About two decades after the introduction of socialism, gross domestic product fell by 88% from 2010 to 2020, from $372.59 billion to $43.79 billion, the lowest level in over 30 years (© Statista 2024). Photo: Alejandro Cegarra.

Credit, Fiat and the State Monopoly on Innovation

Credit has become part of a system of control that nation states use in conjunction with fiat money to maintain their monopoly position. Historically, technologies and social movements that undermined the monopoly power of the state and its affiliated institutions were typically banned. At the very least, there was usually an attempt to do so.

A good example is the way Bitcoin is treated by most states, how poorly it is spoken of in most universities, and how most banks used to consider it speculation at best. Because Bitcoin threatens the existence of these institutions. This behavior is generally observed among monopolists and initially makes it difficult for entrepreneurs to enter new disruptive markets like Bitcoin and shifts competition in favor of the monopolist (the state).

Money creation and the granting of credit are fundamental to maintaining the state’s monopoly position. As a result, the reliance on the institutionalized credit system to finance innovation has led to a dependence on a central authority (the state). This disrupts the progress and prosperity of humanity that results from a free market in which capital and information can be freely exchanged and suppresses the collective creativity of humanity.

Bitcoin and the weakening state monopoly on innovation

With the introduction of Bitcoin in 2009, the state monopoly on money was broken. Due to its limited supply and excellent monetary properties (absolute scarcity, durability, fungibility, divisibility, mobility, resilience, self-custody), bitcoin is the hardest money ever created. This allows entrepreneurs to preserve the value of their efforts, giving them time and, in the long term, capital to focus on problems and find and fund appropriate solutions. Which, in turn, creates opportunities for innovation to emerge from the free market in a bottom-up manner.

Innovation and communication

Innovation, especially in the age of the Internet, requires more than capital and people with time. There is a need for efficient and secure real-time communication and collaboration options for people around the world. Communication and collaboration are crucial for efficiently solving increasingly complex problems in a connected world.

Cunningham’s Law states that the best way to get the right answer on the Internet is not to ask a question; instead, to post the wrong answer because others will correct you. This underscores the importance of collective intelligence. The law is named after Ward Cunningham, who invented the Wiki software that allows users to create and collaboratively edit web pages or entries via a web browser. The most famous example is wikipdia.com.

Collective intelligence, social technologies and network organizations are closely linked and enable each other (Seppala, M. 2018. Collective Intelligence 2018: From Open Knowledge and Network Organizations to Technology-enabled Intelligence. Medium).

Nostr: Communication as a tool for innovation

In late 2019, Lightning developer named Fiatjaf published his ideas on a censorship-resistant social network he called Nostr – “Notes and Other Stuff Transmitted by Relays”. With the actual launch of Nostr shortly after, a protocol that adds a layer of censorship-resistant information-sharing to the Bitcoin and Lightning protocol suite, a new territory of freedom opened up in the same tech-stack as Bitcoin and Lightning.

Although there were a number of other decentralized communication networks besides Bitcoin before Nostr (Bittorrent, Limewire, Napster, etc.), in my view none of them had the potential to have a universal long-term impact on collaboration to solve complex problems facing humanity. Nostr has the potential to enable bottom-up innovation and rapid problem-solving that no one can keep a lid on. With Nostr, market participants can communicate, collaborate, and reward each other in real time globally, more independently of nation-state control.

A visual representation of the Nostr protocol, illustrating the interaction between users, applications, and relays, highlighting how information flows in a decentralized, censorship-resistant manner (Source: Andi Pitt, Ego Death Capital “Nostrica, the start of something big?”).

Even though individual applications that use Nostr can be switched off, the protocol itself cannot be effectively controlled or turned off by a central party.

The first widely used application of Nostr is a censorship-resistant social network that can be accessed through various clients. The most commonly used ones include Damus, Primal, Amethyst and Iris. The usability of each client is largely optimized for desktop or mobile. The network structure is similar to the way one can access the IMAP email protocol through various clients such as Gmail, Yahoo Mail, etc. (simplified example). Applications connect to many Nostr relays that are run by network participants with technical know-how. These relays distribute information, so if one relay fails, there are others that continue to run. The relays operate largely independently of each other, giving the network resilience because there is no central point of failure.

Although Nostr is not based on the Bitcoin blockchain, it utilizes peer-to-peer bitcoin payments via the Lightning Network. With Zaps, users can pay each other or tip posts they particularly like. People can now successfully save in bitcoin, communicate via Nostr, and transact with each other through Lightning—potentially independent of any central authority.

Even though. For a long time, I struggled to define the purpose of Nostr beyond its function as a “decentralized X.” However, I eventually realized that the possibilities are nearly endless. Nostr is a protocol for a freer Internet and society, poised to become the gateway to a truly free Internet. In this new landscape, we have the opportunity to innovate faster and reward ingenuity, making way for a more empowered and interconnected world.

There are countless Nostr applications currently being built. Nostrocket, for example, is a client designed to coordinate decentralized, Bitcoin-based economies by rewarding (in satoshis/bitcoin) contributors who work together to find solutions to global challenges. The application uses censorship-resistant communication via Nostr and direct bitcoin payments via the Lightning Network to help create economically sustainable organizations that solve problems on the critical path to a global Bitcoin standard. Nostrocket founder Gsovereignty is a very active member of the Nostr community and worth following.

Conclusion

The Bitcoin protocol was created as an alternative to the fiat system. A decentralized, permissionless peer-to-peer electronic cash system, outside the reach of the state. Satoshi Nakamoto created arguably one of the most important innovations by a private individual or group of people that humanity has ever produced, because he/they laid the foundation for anyone to be able to trade and act independently of the state. As a solid foundation for a freer economy, the Bitcoin network enables other network layers to “dock” to the base, creating new ways to use bitcoin and opportunities for users. The Lightning Network, as a second-layer payment protocol for fast transactions and micropayments, partially addresses the problem of how to scale Bitcoin so that it can be used by all of humanity.

The introduction of Nostr creates a new territory of freedom within the same protocol suite as Bitcoin and Lightning, enhancing Bitcoin’s usability for diverse applications. By facilitating seamless communication and collaboration, Nostr further aids in scaling Bitcoin, empowering us to innovate faster and reward ingenuity. With Nostr, innovation can potentially emerge from the free market again, and ingenuity can be rewarded once more. Thus, Bitcoin, Lightning, and Nostr provide a protocol suite for a freer Internet and society, with Nostr poised to become the gateway to a truly free Internet.

The use cases for Nostr seem endless. I invite you to explore the possibilities of the protocol.

I would like to thank Uncle R0ckstar for the inspiring conversations and encouraging words.

Follow me on Nostr 

This is a guest post by Leon Wankum. Opinions expressed are entirely their own and do not necessarily reflect those of BTC Inc or Bitcoin Magazine.

Lightning Companies Are Raising Again: This Is Good for Bitcoin

Recently, Flashnet announced that it had raised a $4.5m seed round, led by Abstract Ventures with participation from UTXO Management and others.

Follow GG on X

Flashnet is a Bitcoin native DEX based on Spark (a Bitcoin L2 designed between the Flashnet team and LightSpark). It’s designed to rival the performance of a (Centralized Exchange) CEX with none of the custody.

Spark enables instant and unlimited self-custodial transactions of Bitcoin and tokens while also enabling users to send and receive natively via Lightning. It’s open-sourced and secured by Bitcoin. Spark was built to address Bitcoin and Lightning’s remaining challenges, focusing on scaling self-custody wallets and enabling stablecoins on Bitcoin.

I’m personally a fan of recent L2 proposals like Ark or Spark trying to complement LN instead of trying to replace it. Having this burgeoning scaling ecosystem opens up the design space for something great — obsoleting Uniswap and bringing all the fees to Bitcoin. This is why I’m so adamant about the utility of Bitcoin Finance (BTCfi) for Bitcoin.

Of course, the question remains, are we really talking about a “Decentralized” exchange here?

From the documentation available, here’s how Flashnet would work:

When a user places a limit or market order, they send funds to an MPC (Multi-Party Computation) wallet, where the user, the exchange, and a set of validators act as signers. Funds in the MPC wallet are not claimed until a match is made, similar to how approvals work in Ethereum. For market makers and high-volume actors, there’s an option to keep funds in the MPC wallet to avoid the need for a Spark transaction for each order, in which case they become validators, incurring a bit more trust.The MPC wallet receives signed maker/taker orders to settle trades and initiate fund dispersals. All validators must agree on the user’s intent to match with the counterparty order, ensuring that a limit order for 100 BTC is only valid if the counterparty order matches or exceeds 100 BTC. This intent is known because of the user-signed orders submitted at order placement.All trades are settled instantly and atomically on Spark through its native atomic swap mechanism. Trust is only required during the brief interval between matching and settlement, which lasts only a few milliseconds. Additionally, users can unilaterally exit the MPC at any time using Spark’s unilateral exit feature, providing an extra layer of security.RFQ offers are also available for wallets, mining pools, and platforms, enabling users to request quotes from market makers for seamless BTCToken swaps.

This development not only complements Lightning but also pushes Bitcoin’s ecosystem towards greater adoption and utility, showcasing why the resurgence of investment in Lightning-adjacent technologies is a positive sign for Bitcoin’s future.

This article is a Take. Opinions expressed are entirely the author’s and do not necessarily reflect those of BTC Inc or Bitcoin Magazine.

Guillaume’s articles in particular may discuss topics or companies that are part of his firm’s investment portfolio (UTXO Management). The views expressed are solely his own and do not represent the opinions of his employer or its affiliates. He’s receiving no financial compensation for these Takes. Readers should not consider this content as financial advice or an endorsement of any particular company or investment. Always do your own research before making financial decisions. 

Bitcoin Payments Aren’t The Future, They’re Here Already

Breez, in partnership with 1A1z, has released a new report investigating the use of Bitcoin as a payments system and transactional currency. Bitcoin has always been painted as digital gold, that is one of the longest running narratives at this point in terms of what Bitcoin actually is. It does capture the use as a long-term investment or speculative asset, and has been a very helpful aid in getting people over the first hump of basic understanding, but it is by no means a comprehensive explanation of what Bitcoin is.

The report dives into multiple factors of Bitcoin’s use as a payment mechanism. It dissects different use cases, regulatory treatments received in different jurisdictions, services and platforms with existing integration of Lightning payments, etc.

Case studies are included looking at specific businesses and the volume of transactions or userbase they have provided access to Bitcoin for. Mercari, a major Japanese marketplace similar to Amazon, accepts bitcoin. Mullvad VPN, Namecheap, and Protonmail are all instances of digital businesses benefiting from bitcoin payments.

While the Bitcoin digital gold narrative is running strong, Bitcoin’s use as a payment mechanism is growing quietly in the background. Storing value may be a necessary component of Bitcoin’s use in commerce, but the ultimate purpose it was created for was to transact with.

Read the report here for more details on how Bitcoin’s transactional use is going through a quiet renaissance. 

Bitcoin’s Core Remains Unbreakable

Bitcoin was forged to be unstoppable in a hostile environment, but let’s be perfectly clear: surviving and thriving are two different things. Just because Bitcoin can withstand severe political antagonism doesn’t mean we should want that antagonism, nor does it mean we shouldn’t do everything possible to foster a favorable environment that accelerates adoption. Believing otherwise is a misreading of the core ethos. The brilliance of Bitcoin is that it remains permissionless and decentralized no matter who fights it—but that doesn’t preclude us from working to ensure we have the most beneficial conditions for its long-term success.

In fact, public policy responses to regulatory and legislative inquiries have consistently reaffirmed these basics: Bitcoin’s strength is open-source software, self-custody, and a wide distribution of mining and node operators. In other words, it’s not about selling out. It’s about ensuring our governments understand the benefits of Bitcoin’s open design.

There’s a difference between “Bitcoin was built for a hostile environment” and “we should want a hostile environment.” Having an adversary-resistant architecture doesn’t demand that we sit back and ignore opportunities to reduce friction, whether in energy policy or everyday user experience. Yes, Bitcoin can and will survive if politicians and regulators turn hostile. But it’s short-sighted to treat hostility as a virtue.

Hostility might slow adoption, push development offshore, or scare away everyday users who aren’t ready for that level of conflict. Meanwhile, measured engagement with policymakers can prevent draconian bans, shape balanced regulation, and offer legitimate pathways for institutional capital to flow in—all of which can speed up global usage of Bitcoin. It’s not a betrayal of Satoshi’s vision to say, “We’d like Bitcoin to flourish under transparent, fair laws.” We want people to choose Bitcoin, not be forced into it by some catastrophic breakdown of the legacy system.

There is nothing “un-Bitcoin” about encouraging legislation that protects individuals’ rights to use and hold their own BTC, or that supports open-source development. We should be unapologetically active in these political arenas, because ignoring them won’t make them go away. It would only allow others—perhaps with very different agendas—to set the rules in ways that hamper privacy, hamper self-custody, or hamper innovation.

The key is remaining vigilant against compromises that undermine the protocol’s integrity. Building relationships with politicians or regulators doesn’t mean we’re begging for favorable carve-outs at the expense of censorship resistance. It simply means we’re making our voices heard. If we see demands for forcing protocol-level changes that are hostile to users, that’s where we must stand firm and say “No” for both practical and ideological reasons. But proactively sharing how Bitcoin mining can stabilize energy grids or how Lightning Network can provide near-instant payments is not a concession of Bitcoin’s ethos. It’s part of a rational strategy to help the public and policymakers understand the real value behind Bitcoin’s existence.

Misguided concerns about large mining operations kowtowing to regulatory pressure are not new. The reality is, Bitcoin’s design remains adversary-resistant: anyone can mine if they have the hardware and energy, and anyone can run a full node to enforce the rules, ensuring that no single miner can change the protocol. If some mining pools bend to censorship demands, other pools are attracted by fees to include those transactions. That’s exactly how Bitcoin is designed: routing around censorship with an anti-fragile, decentralized architecture.

Ironically, positive regulatory engagement can reduce centralization risks if it opens more states, countries, and smaller energy providers to hosting mining facilities. Diversity of geography and jurisdiction means no single entity or government can easily impose sweeping rules on the entire network. Again, “hostile environment survival” doesn’t mean turning away from pragmatic solutions that help decentralize hashrate.

It is true that privacy, scalability, and accessibility remain pressing challenges. This isn’t an either/or proposition: we can both engage with regulators to stave off ill-informed policy and focus on advancing privacy-preserving features and scaling solutions. The key is not to let the everyday politics overshadow the work that needs to be done on second-layer technologies like the Lightning Network or more user-friendly privacy solutions.

Developers are actively tackling these issues, from better cryptography to more intuitive Lightning wallets. We should be championing—publicly and politically—initiatives that keep self-custody at the forefront and keep third-party custodians optional. Spreading knowledge of “not your keys, not your coins” at the legislative level isn’t selling out; it’s ensuring that more people (including politicians) actually grasp the fundamental reasons Bitcoin matters.

It’s easy to look at the ecosystem—full of corporate players, lobbying efforts, and social media theatrics—and think it has lost its soul. But Bitcoin has always been full of diverse voices, many of which care about short-term profit. That was true in 2011, it was true during the block-size wars, and it’s true now. It hasn’t destroyed Bitcoin. The network’s fundamental robustness ensures that, if you want to hold your own keys and validate your own transactions, nobody can stop you.

The central promise of Bitcoin hasn’t evaporated, and participating in policy doesn’t have to mean capitulation. It’s simply another stage in Bitcoin’s evolution, one where we actively shape a better environment for the technology and the people who benefit from it. We should embrace that fight wholeheartedly, defend Bitcoin’s fundamentals, and keep building toward a future where censorship-resistant, peer-to-peer digital money is the global norm—not just a contingency plan for hostile conditions.

This is a guest post by Pierre Rochard. Opinions expressed are entirely their own and do not necessarily reflect those of BTC Inc or Bitcoin Magazine.

They Didn’t Take The Orange Pill, They Threw It Out

The son of the current President two days ago on Twitter told people it’s time to add Ethereum to their balance sheets. It is mind blowing to see this, given what this cycle represents for Ethereum.

For years people have been predicting the outcome we are seeing play out this cycle. Ethereum’s dominant use case has been as a platform for issuing other assets, and building applications focused on assets other than ether itself. This becoming the dominant use of the network has obvious implications for the necessity of the Ethereum network itself to operate these other applications and assets.

Bitcoiners have consistently pointed this out, and predicted that other cheaper and more centralized networks with the same functionality would eventually obsolete Ethereum, as the chief value proposition of the network in the market has proven not to be Ethereum or ether itself. That is exactly what we see playing out right now with Solana absorbing activity from Ethereum, for everything from memecoins to DEXes now.

This isn’t a new thesis, this isn’t some novel niche idea hidden from the light of day, it is something loudly predicted for half a decade or more. Yet the “orange pilled” son of the President is here publicly stating it’s time to add ETH.

I think this should in a very crystal clear manner demonstrate that none of the Trump family or new administration are “orange pilled” at all. All they have been shown is the opportunity to make money, and they will follow their incentives. That realistically leads to shitcoining.

Shitcoining is the most profitable short-term thing in this space. They will follow the path to easy money. I think this is the cold hard reality that some Bitcoiners don’t want to accept, people are in most cases not better than their incentives. We are not going to have some kind of grand spiritual “Bitcoin awakening” in government. We are just going to see the incentives we’ve watched play out in multiple cycles play out at a larger scale than we ever have before.

What’s amazing to me is how so many Bitcoiners thought sticking our nose into the government would go any other way. We opened the door, and the shit got dragged in behind us. 

This article is a Take. Opinions expressed are entirely the author’s and do not necessarily reflect those of BTC Inc or Bitcoin Magazine.

Bringin Makes Bitcoin Easier To Spend In Europe

Founder: Prashanth Chandrashekar

Date Founded: March 2023

Location of Headquarters: Lithuania

Number of Employees: 3 full-time, 3 contract workers

Website: https://bringin.xyz/

Public or Private? Private

With Bringin, it’s now easier than ever to live on a bitcoin standard in Europe.

The web app (and soon-to-be-released mobile app) enables users to almost instantly convert bitcoin from either a base chain or Lightning wallet to a virtual Visa debit card that can be used wherever Visa is accepted.

Bringin’s founder Prashanth Chandrashekar conceptualized the product after struggling to convert his bitcoin into euros.

“Two years ago while living in Estonia, I used to get paid in bitcoin, and it took almost four days to liquidate the bitcoin and get euros into Revolut to spend,” Chandrashekar told Bitcoin Magazine.

[Author’s note: When Chandrashekar uses the term “liquidate,” he’s referring to converting bitcoin into fiat.]

“That’s why I wanted to build a tool that allows users to liquidate Bitcoin. I think liquidating bitcoin instantly and being able to use bitcoin is one of the key factors for getting the value of bitcoin into the world today,” he added.

What Chandrashekar and his team have built is comparable to a service like Bitrefill, though more dynamic, and it has more capabilities.

How Bringin Works

Bringin operates in all countries that use the euro, and it lets users convert bitcoin in a Lightning wallet into euros in under a minute. (On-chain transactions take longer, approximately 10 minutes, as they need to be confirmed on the blockchain.)

To most efficiently convert bitcoin into euros, users simply pay a Lightning invoice denominated in the amount of euros they want on their virtual debit card and those euros become available for spending soon after.

On the back-end, the process looks like this: Bringin issues each of its users a virtual IBAN (International Bank Account Number). This number is then used to interface with the SEPA system, which enables users in the Euro Zone to make cashless euro payments.

Using SEPA Instant Credit Transfers, which enable transfers of up to 15,000 euros in under 10 seconds, in conjunction with Lightning payments, users can convert their bitcoin into euros in almost no time flat.

Chandrashekar illustrated how quickly this all takes place in a recent X post:

I just Booked a cab with SATs on my @getAlby node!

Using @bringinxyz debit card!

Living on Bitcoin standard has never been easier than now!

Pre-order one for yourself today! You will get access in days.

Link 👇 user code BTCTOTHEMOON to get 10% off 🚀 pic.twitter.com/fliHbS6Z6J

— Prashanth (@prashanthc123) January 31, 2025

Users must go through the KYC process to use the service, though, Bringin never custodies user funds, which means that Bringing users can opt to use non-custodial Bitcoin or Lightning wallets.

“You can use your Alby Hub and liquidate directly into the debit card using Nostr Wallet Connect (NWC),” explained Chandrashekar. “We’ve created a more direct link between your self-custody wallet and your bank account.”

The Road To Bringin

Chandrashekar began developing Bringin in September 2022 (though, he didn’t incorporate until March 2023).

Before working on this product, he was employed by the now defunct Lastbit, which aimed to solve a similar problem.

“We were building consumer-facing payment applications for Europe,” said Chandrashekar. “The application allowed users to buy bitcoin instantly, make and receive Lightning payments, and we also shipped a MasterCard debit card that could be funded with Lightning transactions.”

Chandrashekar shared that the project was scrapped, though, due to a number of difficulties.

“Unfortunately, we couldn’t scale the service,” he said. “We were too early, and there were a lot of compliance hurdles.”

Not wanting to give up on creating a product like Lastbit, Chandrashekar moved to Estonia with some members of the Lastbit team, obtained the proper licenses and began building Bringin.

“Lastbit pivoted from building a consumer application to being more of an infrastructure company, providing tool links for other companies to build on top of it,” explained Chandrashekar.

So, at that time, I was still working with the company and helping them with the infrastructure, but I felt the need to build a consumer product that allowed people to do what Lastbit initially aimed to accomplish,” he added.

“So, I hopped out and started my own venture to help consumers and other Bitcoiners who had a problem like mine.”

A Third Generation Exchange

Bringin not only serves as a bitcoin off-ramp, but an on-ramp, as well.

“Users can use Lightning addresses to buy Bitcoin,” explained Chandrashekar. “Today, you can go to Bringin, enter “10 euros,” “prashant@alby.com,” “Send funds” and the sats appear in your Alby Hub.”

(Users can connect with any wallet that supports NWC. Bringin also enables transfers using Blink wallet, and intends to expand their integrations, according to Chandrashekar.)

Because Bringin can facilitate these types of seamless transactions between non-custodial wallets and the traditional banking and payment rails, Chandrashekar conceptualizes Bringin as a “third generation” exchange.

“There have been multiple generations of exchanges,” he began.

“Originally, we saw all kinds of exchanges where you place a limit order, check the order book and make a purchase. That evolved into a mobile wallet like Venmo, which is custodial, where you instantly swap for bitcoin. That was the second generation of exchanges,” he added.

“Bringin is a third generation exchange, because it’s not a custodial solution where you put funds and then swap it and the bitcoin stays in the custody of the exchange. It allows not only for instant swapping, but also takes care of movement of funds from the banking system to the Bitcoin and Lightning networks.”

Bringin’s Roadmap

Moving forward, Chandrashekar plans to streamline Bringin’s operations while broadening the services the platform offers.

Currently, Bringin works with a partner business to issue and manage debit cards, but Chandrashekar would like to change that.

“Right now, we are a distributor and technology provider, and we don’t have direct partnership with Visa, so we white label our partner’s debit cards,” explained Chandrashekar. “But we eventually want to get our direct partnership with Visa.”

Chandrashekar also looks forward to onboarding more merchants, as the company already makes it easy for businesses to begin employing Bringin.

“We have integrations with BTCPay Server and Opago Pay,” said Chandrashekar. “Merchants can receive Bitcoin payments and instantly convert a part of it or the whole payment into euros via a Bringin IBAN account.”

And Chandrashekar is working to partner Bringin with a bitcoin borrowing and lending platform.

“The intent here is that the users can provide bitcoin as collateral and receive loans in euros,” he explained, adding that most Bitcoin borrowing and lending services only offer loans in US dollars or US dollar stablecoins.

Beyond these plans, Chandrashekar remains motivated to continue to improve Bringin’s on-ramping technology.

“You need to get bitcoin into your favorite wallet, and there’s a huge amount of friction there,” he said. “Our intention is to get bitcoin to everyone by allowing users to get bitcoin directly into the wallet of their choosing with no friction whatsoever, directly from the bank.”

BlackRock to Launch Spot Bitcoin ETP in Europe

BlackRock Inc., the world’s largest asset manager with over $11.5 trillion in assets under management, is preparing to launch a spot Bitcoin exchange-traded product (ETP) in Europe, according to a report from Bloomberg. 

The fund is expected to be based in Switzerland and BlackRock could begin marketing it as early as this month, sources familiar with the matter told Bloomberg. Though, at the time of writing, a BlackRock representative declined to comment on the matter.

This listing would mark yet another step in BlackRock’s international expansion of its Bitcoin-related offerings, as the firm has already launched spot Bitcoin ETFs in both Canada and Brazil

BlackRock appears eager to build on the success of its U.S.-based spot Bitcoin ETF, IBIT, which became the “greatest ETF launch in history,” amassing over $50 billion in assets under management in just its first year of being live.

JUST IN: Bloomberg says BlackRock’s spot #Bitcoin ETF is the ‘Greatest Launch in ETF History’ 🚀 pic.twitter.com/12aft5q8th

— Bitcoin Magazine (@BitcoinMagazine) December 30, 2024

At the World Economic Forum in Davos in January, BlackRock CEO Larry Fink stated that he is a “big believer” in Bitcoin, and that its price could run up to $700,000 if more asset allocators start buying it, and if there is more fear of currency debasement, political and economic instability. 

JUST IN: $11.5 trillion BlackRock CEO Larry Fink says Bitcoin could go up to $700,000 if there is more fear of currency debasement and economic instability.pic.twitter.com/WOXclAsjDP

— Bitcoin Magazine (@BitcoinMagazine) January 22, 2025

President Trump’s Crypto Czar Hosts U.S.’s First Press Conference On Bitcoin And Digital Assets

In the first ever official press conference for digital assets hosted by the U.S. government, Crypto Czar David Sacks and pro-crypto U.S. politicians committed to prioritizing bitcoin and digital assets during the Trump administration.

In his opening remarks, Sacks shared that “the President said in his executive order in the first week that it’s the policy of his administration to support the responsible growth and use of digital assets, blockchain technology and related technologies across all sectors of the economy.”

He also reminded the audience that in that executive order, the President established both a working group for digital assets as well as a mandate for the group.

“Our objective is to accomplish the task the President assigned for us in his EO, which is to propose a Federal regulatory framework governing the issuance and operation of digital assets, including stablecoins, in the United States,” said Sacks.

The “Golden Age” For The Bitcoin And Crypto Industry Begins

Sacks also contextualized the significance of this new administration’s not being antagonistic to the Bitcoin and crypto industry, especially in light of what transpired under the Biden administration.

“I’ve talked to many founders over the last few years and they’ve told me repeatedly that the number one thing they need from Washington is regulatory clarity,” he said.

“They just want to know what the rules of the road are so they can abide by them. We’re coming off frankly four years of arbitrary prosecution and persecution of crypto companies where the SEC wouldn’t tell founders what the rules were and then they would prosecute them. Many founders even told me stories of being debanked personally just because they had founded a crypto company,” he added.

Before concluding his opening remarks, Sacks noted that he looks forward to working with the politicians hosting the conference alongside him — Senator Tim Scott (R-SC), Congressman French Hill (R-AR), Senator John Boozman (R-AR) and Congressman (R-PA) — in “creating a golden age for digital assets.”

Senator Scott began by stating that this “golden age has begun” and that “the good news is that it’s going to get better.”

He also noted that he plans to “work synergistically with the House and the Senate, with the White House leading the way” when it comes to passing bills on digital assets.

The U.S. At The Forefront Of Bitcoin And Crypto Innovation

Rep. Hill stressed that the United States should be leading the way, not falling behind when it comes to the digital asset industry.

“We don’t want to be behind in financial technology and digital assets in the United States, [and] our innovators need clarity,” said Rep. Hill. “They need to know what the rules of the road are.”

He also stated that he’s forming a working group between the House Financial Services Committee, the Senate Banking Committee, the House Agriculture Committee and the Senate Agriculture Committee to craft a clear regulatory framework.

Senator Boozman highlighted the fact that not all crypto assets are the same (without necessarily singling bitcoin out).

“Some assets are commodities, some are securities,” said Senator Boozman, who noted that different regulatory agencies should oversee different crypto assets accordingly.

Rep. Thompson walked the audience through the stages of the Internet, pointing out the fact that the internet today has become the “Internet of value.”

“America really was the leader when it came to Internet 1.0, and [with] Internet 2.0, again, it was America that led that for the world,” said Rep. Thompson. “Internet 3.0 is what we’re talking about today, and that’s the Internet of value — and we’re approaching it in a principled way.”

This “principled way” includes protecting consumers while still offering innovators in the Bitcoin and crypto industry space to foster innovation, according to Rep. Thompson.

“The opportunities [in crypto] are unimaginable,” said Rep. Thompson. “I know that [David Sacks] is laser focused on bringing certainty to digital asset markets.”

During a question and answer session, Senator Scott noted that bipartisan efforts are being made around crypto in the Senate.

“Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) and Kirsten Gillibrand are coming together for the market structure bill,” he said.

Comments On Anti-Money Laundering Regulation

When asked about reconsidering Anti-Money Laundering (AML) laws as they pertain to crypto, Senator Scott said he’s open to it.

“I think that the broader conversation should not be about digital assets alone,” said Senator Scott. “It’s about bad actors doing bad things by any means necessary.”

Rep. Hill chimed in regarding AML regulations, stating that they should exist, much like they do in the analog financial space.

Educational Efforts

Rep. Thompson brought up the importance of educating those in the House and Senate about crypto assets, given that it’s still a relatively new subject.

“Member education is what our first goal is here,” he said.

Rep. Hill echoed his sentiment.

“A key element now is the education and technical assistance that can be provided to members both in the House and Senate,” he said.

Sacks also offered his thoughts on this topic.

“Part of what we’re here to do is provide resources on education,” he said, adding that some of the educators can be “luminaries in the industry.”

As Sacks spoke on this topic, he also differentiated between Bitcoin and all other crypto assets and networks.

“Crypto can be an esoteric subject, and it is good to explain it, to demystify it,” said Sacks. “You’ve got the cryptocurrency itself like bitcoin, [and then other assets that] run on blockchains, which are just distributed ledgers.”

The Strategic Bitcoin Reserve

Before the conference concluded, Sacks also addressed the prospect of the U.S. creating a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve.

“One of the things that the President instructed us to do was to evaluate the idea for a Bitcoin reserve,” said Sacks. “So, that is one of the first things we’re going to look at as part of the internal working group in the administration.”

Why Smart Investors Buy Bitcoin Not Real Estate

In today’s dynamic economic landscape, seasoned investors are reevaluating their portfolios and considering the potential of Bitcoin as an alternative to traditional assets like real estate. With a finite supply and transformative growth potential, Bitcoin presents a compelling case for forward-thinking investment strategies.

Real Estate: The Illusion of Stability

Real estate has long been regarded as a safe haven for preserving wealth. However, the housing market is not immune to systemic risks such as interest rate hikes, government intervention, and economic downturns. Moreover, property investments often require significant maintenance costs, taxes, and liquidity sacrifices.

Bitcoin, in contrast, offers unparalleled portability, resistance to confiscation, and immunity from local economic or geopolitical disruptions. Unlike property, Bitcoin has no maintenance costs or physical constraints.

The Rise of Bitcoin as a Store of Value

Bitcoin’s limited supply of 21 million coins establishes it as “digital gold” for the 21st century. Over the past decade, Bitcoin has consistently outperformed other asset classes, delivering exponential returns despite volatility.

Figure 1: Bitcoin Monthly Returns Heatmap displaying percentage monthly and annual returns over the past ten years. Source – Bitcoin Magazine Pro

In comparison, real estate’s appreciation is often tied to inflation and government monetary policy, which can diminish its true value over time. Bitcoin, on the other hand, operates on a deflationary model, ensuring scarcity and preserving purchasing power.

Liquidity and Accessibility

Real estate investments often require lengthy transactions, high fees, and significant regulatory hurdles. Selling a property can take months, tying up capital and reducing agility. Bitcoin, however, offers instant liquidity and can be traded 24/7 on global exchanges. This accessibility empowers investors to move their wealth seamlessly across borders.

Figure 2: Property Priced in BTC infographic Illustrating the declining amount of Bitcoin required to purchase the median U.S. home over time. Source – Bitcoin Magazine Pro

The data underscores Bitcoin’s ability to preserve and grow wealth more effectively than traditional property investments.

Hedging Against Inflation

Real estate prices often mirror inflationary trends but fail to outpace them significantly. Bitcoin, designed as a hedge against fiat currency devaluation, has demonstrated its resilience in inflationary periods. As central banks continue to print money at unprecedented rates, Bitcoin’s finite supply ensures its value is protected from monetary debasement.

Figure 3: Property Priced in BTC showing how Bitcoin has consistently gained purchasing power relative to real estate. Source -Bitcoin Magazine Pro

Flexibility for Modern Investors

Today’s investors prioritize flexibility and global access. Real estate is a localized, illiquid asset that limits mobility. Bitcoin, by contrast, is borderless and allows for decentralized ownership without reliance on traditional financial systems. This feature is especially attractive to younger, tech-savvy investors who value freedom and control.

A Bold Vision for the Future

Bitcoin is more than just a speculative asset; it’s a financial revolution. By embracing Bitcoin, smart investors position themselves at the forefront of this paradigm shift. As Bitcoin adoption grows, its value proposition becomes increasingly clear: a robust, deflationary asset designed for the modern economy.

Figure 4: BTC vs. US Property demonstrating Bitcoin’s trajectory as a superior investment vehicle compared to real estate. Source – Bitcoin Magazine Pro

Conclusion

While real estate has historically been a cornerstone of investment portfolios, Bitcoin offers a transformative alternative that aligns with the demands of a rapidly evolving global economy. For those seeking to preserve wealth, hedge against inflation, and capitalize on groundbreaking technology, Bitcoin is the asset of choice. The question is no longer “Why Bitcoin?” but rather “Why not Bitcoin?”

If you’re interested in more in-depth analysis and real-time data, consider checking out Bitcoin Magazine Pro for valuable insights into the Bitcoin market.

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and should not be considered financial advice. Always do your own research before making any investment decisions.

Buying And Holding Bitcoin Is The Best Strategy To Navigate The Trump Tariff War

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Today, The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) published an article attempting to discredit Bitcoin amidst the recent US, Canada, and Mexico tariff trade war, because bitcoin’s price has gone down in the wake of the news.

“Bitcoin — touted as a borderless, digital store of value — is down more than 4% over the last 24 hours, after the White House instigated cross-border tariffs,” the article stated. “Cryptocurrencies were once promoted as investments that act independently of stocks, but in fact their moves often resemble outsized versions of broader market swings.”

In the second sentence cited above, the WSJ attempts to diminish bitcoin’s value proposition by pointing out that bitcoin’s price is just correlated with other traditional assets.

What the author of the article doesn’t share, though, is that bitcoin’s price is going to go down, and up, much more so than traditional assets, because it’s incredibly liquid, and it’s easy to buy and sell. But Bitcoin is a distributed network made up of miners, nodes, developers, and users — on a technical level, it is quite different from other assets like stocks, as it has no central party controlling it.

Because of this, bitcoin has been a safe haven for those trying to navigate geopolitical fears. No one can just print more bitcoin out of thin air and inflate the supply, enforce any unwanted network changes overnight, or overthrow and stop the network from running.

But don’t just take my word for it, take Larry Fink’s, the CEO of the world’s largest asset manager, BlackRock. Just a couple of weeks ago, Fink said that he is a true believer in Bitcoin’s value proposition and that if you’re frightened of the geopolitical fears in your country, you can now have an international-based asset that operates completely independently from those tensions.

JUST IN: $11.5 trillion BlackRock CEO Larry Fink says Bitcoin could go up to $700,000 if there is more fear of currency debasement and economic instability.pic.twitter.com/WOXclAsjDP

— Bitcoin Magazine (@BitcoinMagazine) January 22, 2025

Sure, Bitcoin’s price will respond to news and events happening in the short term, causing large price actions to the upside or downside, but cherrypicking data in an attempt to make bitcoin look like it’s a bad investment is just bad reporting and misleading. Bitcoin has been the best performing asset of the last 15 years, and will likely continue to perform well due to its value proposition.

The important point to understand here is that while Bitcoin is a volatile asset reacting to daily events, over the long term, bitcoin’s value proposition is what takes its price higher and higher. For the first time in history, we have money that can not be hyperinflated. Bitcoin also allows people to transact across borders freely, without permission, giving users an escape hatch for anyone whose country is attempting to control them financially.

Forget short term price when it comes to bitcoin as a tool to help navigate geopolitical tensions. Over the long term, Bitcoin’s supply and demand will take the price higher than it is today. Mainstream media articles on Bitcoin have always missed the bigger picture and end up misleading the people who read them. As geopolitical tensions increase, bitcoin is the safest asset you can own.

This article is a Take. Opinions expressed are entirely the author’s and do not necessarily reflect those of BTC Inc or Bitcoin Magazine.