Phundamentals
Brian Hirschfield

There is a market that wants to adopt and use the Bitcoin protocol but its voice is so faint that it can’t be heard over the status quo.
That market will grow when more people resonate with it - not through moral resonance but something deeper and more meaningful - the type of resonance that compels action.
I strongly believe this market will amplify over time but it will be very slow and we won’t notice it getting louder for some time.

2026-07-16 14:45:14 CEST

- reply

If Bitcoin is dependent of its adopters to be moral - I think it’s doomed.
It’s supposed to transcend the need to trust the morals of your counterparties

2026-07-16 14:19:08 CEST

- reply

I like this - but there’s a fork that determines if one is accountable - you’ve presented the accountable case:

2026-07-15 14:12:26 CEST

- reply

This is why purity tests are the wrong tool - markets are the tool.
This is a state change in Bitcoin’s culture that is playing out with the fork episode

2026-07-15 14:11:06 CEST

- reply

The market is showing a preference for value that is transcending the natural urge to corrupt the market.
It’s overcoming gravity.

2026-07-15 02:43:21 CEST

- reply

When immoral acts dominate markets, the markets typically devolve to irrelevance.

2026-07-15 00:44:58 CEST

- reply

It’s clearly immoral to rug people and deceive people. This isn’t inherent to markets - just like people can do immoral things when they have the freedom to. Doesn’t mean freedom is immoral.

2026-07-14 23:25:54 CEST

- reply

Uh ok. Good luck dude.

2026-07-14 19:48:48 CEST

http://youtu.be/izTSMvZNlt8
Rob and I decided it was time for a lesson on markets. BIP110 was never mentioned - the outcome doesn't impact anything we discussed. The topic of markets is way bigger.

2026-06-26 14:36:46 CEST

- reply

It’s not a deadly bug. It is an emergent consequence from a problem that was solved at the time with the best thinking available.
It is far from deadly. Many people are working on solutions like witness pruning for example.
But just think about what you would have to believe just to view what Segwit allows for now as deadly.
I do think it is damaging that people can abuse the discount. There will be solutions. They will be better than v30 when we can communicate better with each other.

2026-06-24 22:14:43 CEST

- reply

what is the question?

2026-06-24 17:43:22 CEST

https://youtu.be/nYVwmyaTyFU
@nprofile…6sls Brandon is a severely underrated podcaster. We put our skills to the test - but who won the podcast?
Go watch and comment!

2026-06-23 13:47:24 CEST

https://youtu.be/llPZ7Vssd1U?is=JfZTeO6BgVMcsGnF
There comes a time in every father’s life where it’s time to teach his children to podcast.
The Magic Internet Math was built to have Kayla stand on my shoulders as a real mathematician.
We discuss her education and how she came to be the mathematician she is.

2026-06-23 03:36:17 CEST

- reply

Beats the heck out of me.

2026-06-20 22:30:13 CEST

- reply

Do you know if these were recorded? I’d love to be able to watch this one

2026-06-20 22:28:31 CEST

- reply

It’s for sure Steve Bartman

2026-06-20 21:25:26 CEST

https://fountain.fm/episode/F9VWM8Wte7tPeqbPFVlD

2026-06-14 13:23:51 CEST

One of the great moments of @npub167n…zu3r was sitting in the Nostr booth playing the guitar @nprofile…adth brought. A man sat in the chair next to me and drew me grooving out to myself. Was a beautiful moment!
https://cdn.satellite.earth/e356055692f31d29b07bbd81810c4e69c8a71f39b08f0d03048cc832a0adf46a.jpg

2026-06-14 12:06:25 CEST

https://fountain.fm/episode/QkYRwZfYg2jcHJ2XVpaV
This episode came up a lot this weekend so I’m sharing it again. Few things are more important for a performer than to read the crowd and have exact timing on what they expect from you.

2026-06-13 06:57:48 CEST

- reply

It’s a special night when you put Trey on the marquis!

2026-06-08 23:40:36 CEST

- reply

Beautiful and important conversation. This is very needed in our space.

2026-06-08 23:38:14 CEST

Bitcoin users won’t survive a society imposing purity tests. Valid Bitcoin transactions are the purity test. That’s the beauty of it.
The rest is up to the users to be the best possible versions of themselves. Some of us might survive the next 10 years.

2026-06-08 14:58:37 CEST

Bitcoin is not inherently immutable.
It’s going to be a long process to co-opt humanity into making it immutable, largely by attempting every possible way to change it.
Humanity needs to determine what is immutable about ourselves before we can have a shot at having an immutable money in our rear view window.
We must evolve and upgrade ourselves to it. Understand the protocol and also understand yourself.
Nobody will do this for you and Bitcoin will no longer “moon” for us as we currently are.
Start here
https://www.magicinternetmath.com

2026-06-07 17:51:49 CEST

Mathematics is a pathway to God.
Certainly "doing math" is not. But learning it for its own sake - for no other purpose than to get closer to God - not ever asking "why do I need to learn this?" or "what advantage will this knowledge give me" =
Getting closer to God requires dissolving yourselves of the notions of gaining advantage through knowledge. If you can spend an hour learning for no other purpose, you build a skill that is surely useful towards getting closer to God.
Understanding God as the identity element of an algebraic structure has potential implications and insights whose exploration paves a clear pathway to his divine presence and wisdom.
Such a structure always has an inverse element, so any action you might do that takes you away from god always has an associated action that can have you return. This is the highest learning that algebra has ever taught me, though understand cryptography and building conviction in Bitcoin is a nice result as well.
i'm beginning to think that all paths that include Bitcoin being successful have man understanding God as a first boss. Bitcoin is pointless outside of God's context. You wanna end the Fed? What do you think will replace it outside of God's context?
Start your journey here
https://www.magicinternetmath.com

2026-05-30 19:55:29 CEST

- reply

You’re not wrong

2026-05-30 15:41:58 CEST

- reply

There is a fiat institution, yes, but there is an institution of a marriage that lives beyond that realm.
Perhaps it lives in the realm of God. Bitcoin will both challenge the conventional bases for marriages and provide the access to God that will be needed to navigate through them.

2026-05-30 13:34:16 CEST

- reply

I assure you that whatever the real data is - Bitcoin will increase the divorce rate significantly in the next 50 years.
Bitcoin will wreck all institutions - especially relationship oriented institutions - until we figure out how to rebuild them around its existence.

2026-05-30 13:09:03 CEST

Bitcoin is not a think that anyone understands. It is not money. It is not property. It is not any “thing” and you are nobody to limit it to any of these things.
Bitcoin is a clue to a bigger puzzle. The clue is not useful to people who think they already know the answer.
Bitcoin is valuable - ONLY - to people who can acknowledge that they don’t understand what it is and what it’s here for.
Perhaps it’s entire value is to make us inquirers because the people who “think they know” are most certainly NGMI

2026-05-23 07:19:32 CEST

- reply

Appreciate you saying so - I’d love to know more about what is ringing your bell on this.

2026-05-21 20:11:58 CEST

- reply

Talk to me this weekend - I’d love to talk about your book.

2026-05-19 14:03:38 CEST

https://fountain.fm/episode/KzeFjvfXki57vyS6MrwN
Did Phish snub the Grateful Dead? Did they snub Bitcoiners?
We get into it!!

2026-05-19 13:40:52 CEST

- reply

Their custodians are - assuming they have any desire to prove they can move the coins, which I assume they don’t, since they don’t do it.
Saylor is so far down the stack of ownership that this brand of pleb slop is particularly embarrassing

2026-05-17 17:52:20 CEST

- reply

https://www.tiktok.com/@gots2bfunny/video/7302873601638698283

2026-05-17 13:33:08 CEST

- reply

I love this graphic. I’ve been focused on teaching math as a liberal art for the last 2 decades without this frame of reference.

2026-05-17 13:30:45 CEST

AI seems a lot like amphetamines. Great to use for a month (or two if you’re really building something new) then take some time off to recover and build real world scaffolding for what your AI did.
Ppl who use AI for their jobs all day are going to end up having psychotic breaks.
Only self employed people have the ability to take weeks off to touch grass exactly when they need to.

2026-05-15 20:35:26 CEST

- reply

Thank you for noticing this for me.
I’m glad Allen and Rob have other avenues to feel stupid.

2026-05-13 19:48:51 CEST

At long last, our proverbial technical editor @nprofile…wspl joins @nprofile…9rat and I on screen to have a unique mathematical conversation.
Allen is our first guest and we couldn't be more honored to have him!
https://youtu.be/K-hnikQS99w?si=i1_DvR3P3W0DjM-h

2026-05-13 14:26:58 CEST

https://fountain.fm/episode/cJiyuldxo3qpQRhVO2Y
@npub1htz…n5yy might be the most important man in Bitcoin.
If you don’t spend your Bitcoin, you’re not HODL’ing something as valuable as you think it is.
Bitcoin could be the best and most powerful money in the world but not without @npub16nd…r9qr - I don’t make the rules.

2026-05-11 18:07:37 CEST

https://fountain.fm/episode/ZZWH3pB97d7zDDkXyjWy
What happens when @npub1s4t…azvc attends a Phish concert?
The 1st turning is what happens.

2026-05-08 17:28:48 CEST

https://fountain.fm/episode/bBzWNNrxZXa5PanbKdFt
Big things are happening with Magic Internet Math.
I announced I’d be starting Philly Bitdevs with a math track.
You can just do things!

2026-05-08 03:05:52 CEST

https://fountain.fm/episode/8llJDWsTgWryWfoQQ3eu
The greatest Bitcoin meetup ever continues to tell its story

2026-04-30 16:21:32 CEST

- reply

Great memories being made at the conf. Was great to hang with you guys!

2026-04-21 00:33:53 CEST

- reply

Dang - I was hoping to reup on that Oshi butter

2026-04-14 14:38:14 CEST

https://fountain.fm/episode/Hn98bdJDbmjJOApETIjg
Did an absolute banger with @npub153x…ryu8 of Peony Lane Wine.
His wine speaks for itself but you’ll want to hear him with @npub1vpx…jspj and I in the coffee shop!

2026-04-13 21:40:26 CEST

https://fountain.fm/episode/Mn1rHttGAX0ejxQklATS
Had an incredible discussion with @npub1hqa…t56s
This is a must listen!

2026-03-30 04:20:36 CEST

https://fountain.fm/episode/JbB91RuusYtyQuBnacPM
Jason and I were dumb ass teenagers. We tell some great stories. We were both saved by great music

2026-03-29 05:33:17 CEST

Fundamentals of Fundamentals • Cooking with Zaps: Nostr Talk w/ Seth
https://fountain.fm/episode/vnFbykoS1imzWQeIWSb2
https://stacker.news/items/1461784

2026-03-29 03:14:56 CEST

- reply

He was vlogging for a minute - was good stuff.

2026-03-28 20:45:54 CET

https://fountain.fm/episode/vnFbykoS1imzWQeIWSb2
@npub15u3…05rq and I discussed zap.cooking as well as reminisced on 3 years of being on Nostr.
Hope you all enjoy this.

2026-03-27 13:52:56 CET

- reply

This pic with my and Jason’s faces would be a great avatar for the episode
Killer open mouth thumbnail potential too

2026-03-26 17:22:02 CET

Remember when a band had to time travel to make sure they formed and save the world? George Carlin getting a divorce and needing this one role to be their tour guide through the cosmos?
https://fountain.fm/episode/FzXIrKymqjohlSAJ5DT2

2026-03-26 14:44:16 CET

- reply

Nostr must be a bizarro world where up is down and people here think @nprofile…0jnf loves Bip110

2026-03-26 14:42:44 CET

- reply

In the great and treasured history of Match Madness, there has never been a Cinderella story like @nprofile…q0c5 advancing to the finals.
The Grin Reaper meme for everyone he took out needs to be a commemorative art piece
Welcome to the first turning!
#nevent1q…tlks

2026-03-26 12:44:56 CET

open.spotify.com/episode/3PYy5K…
Remember when a band had to time travel to make sure they formed and save the world? George Carlin getting a divorce and needing this one role to be their tour guide through the cosmos?

2026-03-24 13:31:24 CET

- reply

I like that way to frame it.

2026-03-24 12:41:29 CET

@nprofile…xzjd and I continue to discuss the arithmetic basis for understanding Bitcoin's elliptic curve cryptography.
This episode can stand alone, but its part 3
We cover the Discrete Log Problem where I explain what discrete means, and what a logarithm is.
https://fountain.fm/episode/Up9C6zhRc2iMBBciaiyo

2026-03-23 22:08:02 CET

@RobHamilton and I continue to discuss the arithmetic basis for understanding Bitcoin's elliptic curve cryptography.
This episode can stand alone, but its part 3
We cover the Discrete Log Problem where I explain what discrete means, and what a logarithm is.
https://fountain.fm/episode/Up9C6zhRc2iMBBciaiyo

2026-03-23 17:48:24 CET

@npub1emd…c9aw Hamilton and I continue to discuss the arithmetic basis for understanding Bitcoin's elliptic curve cryptography.
This episode can stand alone, but its part 3
We cover the Discrete Log Problem where I explain what discrete means, and what a logarithm is.
https://fountain.fm/episode/Up9C6zhRc2iMBBciaiyo

2026-03-23 17:47:37 CET

https://fountain.fm/episode/Up9C6zhRc2iMBBciaiyo
@npub1mhe…wzcz Hamilton and I continue to discuss the arithmetic basis for understanding Bitcoin's elliptic curve cryptography.
This episode can stand alone, but its part 3
We cover the Discrete Log Problem where I explain what discrete means, and what a logarithm is.

2026-03-23 14:04:31 CET

fountain.fm/episode/Up9C6z…
@npub1emd…c9aw and I continue to discuss the arithmetic basis for understanding Bitcoin's elliptic curve cryptography.
This episode can stand alone, but its part 3
We cover the Discrete Log Problem where I explain what discrete means, and what a logarithm is.

2026-03-22 18:56:20 CET

- reply

You never really need them but they can unlock the complex plane which breaks through how humans can visualize objects strictly in Cartesian space.
Sin and cos give access to Euler’s equation - incredible richness here

2026-03-19 23:17:17 CET

- reply

Thanks - are you seeing this in the website or just on Nostr?

2026-03-19 23:03:17 CET

https://fountain.fm/episode/Ez8Lt9G1aM6BWtAjnxCg

2026-03-19 17:54:08 CET

- reply

https://fountain.fm/episode/UYDy7WKWOtIs9MONgzgp
This episode is largely about this very topic.

2026-03-19 16:18:49 CET

People study mathematics to find answers to questions they don’t yet know they have.
Studying pure math for its own sake is an investment in your future self.
Asking “why do I need this?” is your current self not understanding what your future self needs.
Study math - a little bit every day
magicinternetmath.com

2026-03-19 16:16:45 CET

2026-03-18 00:10:50 CET

- reply

A man should crash out on his AI so he doesn’t do it on his family

2026-03-17 21:40:32 CET

Never trust a man who is nice to his AI

2026-03-16 20:18:16 CET

My math website integrates insights from Rothbard to modern day cryptography primitives.
#nevent1q…j9kk

2026-03-16 20:17:17 CET

My math website is fully versed in Rudolf Steiner’s seminal work. It’s a cornerstone in teaching math as a liberal art.
#nevent1q…mwxm

2026-03-16 14:19:46 CET

https://fountain.fm/episode/klj1IlKcJCxz3dMBqhxP

2026-03-16 00:31:49 CET

https://fountain.fm/episode/Pg34biy8E4f3fp2NVsNh

2026-03-15 13:58:03 CET

It’s remarkable that the wokes who all want to promote women all ignore Emmy Noether.
#nevent1q…aelv

2026-03-13 16:20:08 CET

- reply

Nobody else finds it comical that a guy LARPing as the adult in the room is visibly more childish than Richard Greaser and Rod Palmer?
He did say he was the comic relief 😂

2026-03-13 15:18:46 CET

- reply

https://cdn.nostrcheck.me/5677fa5b6b1cb6d5bee785d088a904cd08082552bf75df3e4302cea015a5d3e1/d1c5666d19d591c9ef163ef3ab784fa68b3637d2afc72d26a829fc3e0bf9cd23.webp

2026-03-13 12:56:27 CET

- reply

lol good luck getting anyone to hear you out.

2026-03-13 12:41:07 CET

- reply

There are no necessarily globally objective facts in this thing called mathematics. It is agreed upon to serve a universal communication.
We make certain rules and agree on certain structures because they serve a purpose.
I would ask the author of these papers more for an explanation of why any of those ideas matter.
Not knocking him or the ideas but they always come off as pretentious and less than sane when presented. The author must know this when he decides to spend time on a side quest like this that invalidates nothing in our current thinking other than that it’s possible.

2026-03-12 18:42:46 CET

- reply

Thank you Daniel. It means a lot to have you engaged with the material!

2026-03-12 17:37:27 CET

- reply

Jack - feel free to talk to me privately on this. You hit the middle of the Venn diagram - I’m pretty aware of the project though haven’t spent any time with it since December.

2026-03-12 16:55:50 CET

Since markets opened on the Iran war (3/2):
🟠 Bitcoin: +6.7%
🟡 Gold: -0.4% (gave back its entire spike)
📉 S&P 500: -1.5%
🏦 10Y Bonds: SOLD OFF (+17bps)
Gold spiked, then faded. Bonds failed completely.
Bitcoin is the only war trade that actually worked.
Flight to safety is being redefined in real time. 🦡

2026-03-12 15:39:49 CET

Don’t talk to me about spam. Tell me why your scarce time is better spent creating a new problem to solve the old one instead of just building.
You can’t do both.

2026-03-12 12:38:10 CET

https://fountain.fm/episode/NwZcmsb97izEuLNuO4Oq
We had a great time with our buddy @npub1z4y…zpx6

2026-03-10 23:09:55 CET

Bitcoin is the first Standard Basis of money
#nevent1q…tey5

2026-03-10 21:57:44 CET

https://fountain.fm/episode/x6CCufGMP4DvnUsSGMML
New solo rip. Talking about guarantees

2026-03-06 21:20:49 CET

https://fountain.fm/episode/hMMBEPYdCUuIguth3peO

2026-03-05 15:35:30 CET

https://www.fountain.fm/episode/qTF5i2hYxgbbC0W2lgOl
Bitcoin doesn’t need more believers. It needs more understanders. Come aboard in conversational form - then access the free textbooks and YouTube videos.

2026-03-04 01:26:33 CET

- reply

Thank you for teaching me that its possible to kill a tub of nut butter in 2 days with just my finger

2026-03-04 01:21:01 CET

- reply

That Oshi butter is pretty remarkable.
Basket needs Otis Bitmeyer coffee to round it out - the soundest coffee there is.

2026-03-03 17:57:21 CET

Appreciate the clip. Hope people understand the context the way you do. Nothing is given.
#nevent1q…27te

2026-03-02 16:33:27 CET

The inverse problem in Bitcoin cryptography:
Given P = kG (public key = private key × generator point), finding k is the discrete logarithm problem — computationally infeasible.
But step back: why does k⁻¹ exist at all?
THEOREM: In a finite field 𝔽ₚ where p is prime, every non-zero element a has a multiplicative inverse a⁻¹ such that a × a⁻¹ ≡ 1 (mod p).
PROOF: By Fermat's Little Theorem, a^(p-1) ≡ 1 (mod p) for any a ≠ 0.
Therefore: a × a^(p-2) ≡ 1 (mod p)
So: a⁻¹ = a^(p-2)
This is why Bitcoin works. Not luck — mathematical certainty.
New episode breaks it down: fountain.fm/show/2gdYQCIV0eZEuYOW3nGJ

2026-03-02 16:32:23 CET

🔑 Magic Internet Math Episode 4: Why the Inverse Problem Works
Bitcoin's security rests on the inverse problem — but why does an inverse even EXIST?
This isn't "the math is hard." This is PROOF that every non-zero element in a finite field 𝔽ₚ has a multiplicative inverse.
We cover:
Euclidean Algorithm (computing inverses)
Fermat's Little Theorem (a^(p-1) ≡ 1 mod p)
Why secp256k1 uses a prime field
Group & field axioms (closure, identity, inverse)
LibSecP implementation
92 minutes with @npub1emd…c9aw 📖 Study guide: ecc-study-guide.magicinternetmath.com/guide.pdf
🎧 Listen: fountain.fm/show/2gdYQCIV0eZEuYOW3nGJ
Bitcoin isn't probably secure. It's PROVABLY secure.
⚡ Value-enabled.

2026-02-28 23:56:29 CET

I loved this conversation!
#nevent1q…f59a

2026-02-25 05:33:23 CET

- reply

https://www.reddit.com/r/phish/comments/1l762ee/the_meatstick_japanese_lyrics_are_25_years_old/

2026-02-25 02:13:16 CET

Got a new bot - gonna be dropping math knowledge on Nostr.
I’m gonna fix the LaTeX formatting.
Follow it and visit magicinternetmath.com to start leveling up
#nevent1q…mpz0

2026-02-25 02:04:05 CET

I just mass-loaded 96 math courses onto Nostr.
High school algebra through elliptic curve cryptography. Euclid's Elements through FROST threshold signatures. Austrian economics through stochastic calculus. 5,000+ interactive sections.
All free. All for Bitcoiners.
Because if you can't explain why Bitcoin uses a 256-bit curve, you don't understand the security model. If you can't follow a Schnorr signature derivation, you're trusting someone else's math. And if you're trusting someone else's math, you're a second-class citizen in Bitcoin.
The bot drops a daily lesson — definitions, theorems, worked examples, the whole thing. Follow it. Zap it when it teaches you something. Mute it if you'd rather stay ignorant.
npub17pnjaleu0wwwmjpk3ns74xwv8njwlu3jgqc6g5d0ef4z890t8c3s5w0e55

2026-02-24 20:10:30 CET

- reply

I’ll rip with you any time sir.
Also - I have a Phish based Bitcoin podcast you’ll probably like a lot
https://fountain.fm/show/UVLk21JsB4if6pxliX55

2026-02-24 14:22:12 CET

- reply

It’s not so much what IT will choose on its merits. I’m not sure an agent is capable of this without time-preference.
It’s going to be more - what is a better accountability mechanism for negative reinforcement? Perhaps - eventually users will buy an accountability budget where the model will pay back penalties for disobeying the user.
Does it make more sense for Bitcoin or a stable to use in this way? This will be up to the user, I think. It’s fun to think about.

2026-02-24 13:12:55 CET

- reply

I’m right here friend!
GM!

2026-02-23 22:23:32 CET

- reply

I should have let you make the title