While writing the Strong Federations paper, we discussed the very scenario that has played out in this recent attack on Liquid. The entire design process was focused on hardening the system against these kinds of threats, from controlling the supply chain of all hardware components to rigorous verification of all involved software. Blockstream's dilemma was that operating such a network came with significant regulatory exposure, while simultaneously holding an intellectual monopoly over the knowledge required to maintain any real application of the technology; deploying an instance of what the paper described would require a robust geographical and jurisdictional distribution, and thus resilience. The strategy was simple: transfer responsibility, legally, to the functionaries (Federation Members). Drawing on textbooks like “Adversarial Legalism” we toured the world, educating C-suites on why they would want to take on this burden — Bitcoin being the best money, it was (and still) is only a matter of time until all corporate accounting (globally) is denominated in and verified by Bitcoin. The Scaling War (or “The Block Size War” for the uninitiated) incurred a heavy toll on the Core Developers, my co-workers, and my friends. Vicious threats, physical attacks, and general exhaustion led to many of us burning out, departing for other opportunities, or retiring entirely. The brain-drain would continue as time went on, but for a while we were able to onboard Federation Members to take on the operational burden — but not without a modest monthly service fee to the business that designed it (contrary to those who claimed the business was to “squeeze” the Bitcoin network). It is possible that Liquid Federation Members could have detected the attack and independently refused to sign the withdrawal, or even circulated amongst themselves alerts or notifications of irregular activity. Detection and prompt coordination would have allowed the minimum threshold of 5 functionaries to withhold a signature, behavior that would be expected of the operators in such a network. It's not clear to me what education efforts have taken place since my departure nearly 10 years ago, but I do know that more widespread knowledge could have prevented this attack — an educated functionary would have understood the best move in this game. My hopes are that this event serves as a lesson, if not a rallying cry for anyone taking security seriously. Bitcoin is hard. Study harder.

Bitcoin's primary utility is censorship evasion. Iran has not yet been priced in properly, because we've whitewashed it far too much for corporate consumption. Make Bitcoin Cypherpunk Again. Hack The Planet!

Don't lose the forest for the trees. The window to escape is closing. Move now or die forever. “...the illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn.” — Alvin Toffler, Future Shock (1970)

The attack will continue until liberty improves. #bitcoin

Lock in, Bitcoiner. Humanity needs you.

Bitcoin was designed for moments like this.

Wage theft is indeed the largest form of theft in America, but your figure is wrong — the correct number is $3 trillion, and you are one of the thieves.

The most fundamental currency in the universe is energy. We're spending energy to purchase security enforced by thermodynamic law (as opposed to man-made law). Bitcoin is not only the sole neutral option for Iran, but it is also the only logical conclusion; since 1944, the Bretton Woods Accord constrained the development of the global free market, hobbling any forward progress that such a unified currency would otherwise provide. The old monetary standard has reached its zenith; we must now transition our efforts to a truly independent money, which can only be enforced by natural law.

Listen up, you fucking idiots. Bitcoin is humanity's last chance to shed the shackles of Central Banking. Without it, we are doomed to suffer under one Government or another, as they will be forever subject to the power wielded by those that issue the currency. There is no playing around anymore. There is no time for bullshit games or popularity contests. The enemy is very real, very present, and very active. Bitcoin needs you. Show up.

Bitcoin is under attack by the most powerful forces in the world, and you're still arguing with each other over which hostile State is to blame. Reckless, indeed.

For Your Review — the following POLICY document covers the @FabricProtocol, message format, and how I'm approaching relay policy: gist.github.com/martindale/6… Accepting any and all feedback.

In case it wasn't blatantly obvious before, it should be exceedingly clear now that the Central Banking Cartel sees Bitcoin as a direct threat — we are under constant attack by not only State actors, but also the puppetmasters that control their Governments. Humanity needs Bitcoin now more than ever. I spit on the names of my peers who sold themselves to the enemy we swore to destroy; you have betrayed not only the people who relied on you for protection, but also the wider mission of liberating humanity from the slavery imposed upon us by the Federal Reserve System and fractional reserve banking at large. We have fought many battles to achieve our position in this war, and there are many yet to come. Some have already given their lives to defend what we have created, and I am remiss to admit that there will be more to come. None of us ever imagined things would get this far, and yet here we are — secret agents, assassins in the night, and honeypots abound. Stand proud, Bitcoiner, run your node and keep it online throughout the storm. Financial censorship and de-banking is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to battlefronts, and especially now that the war is going kinetic you're going to need the freedom it provides. This may be our last chance before things really go downhill for civilization — which would bring a permanent end to our hopes of becoming a multiplanetary species. We absolutely must succeed, lest humanity be forever subject to the banker's boot. Don't let the cartel win. Stand up and fight. Run a node.

There can only be one, and you aren't it. Change your name, you undeserving misanthropist, lest the blood eagle find you.

Just updated another old Bitcoin node. This one was happily humming along on 0.18.1 since 2019! 🤯