bencousens
Ben Cousens

Yes, I see potential for Nostr in B2B with multi-sig backup, lightning backup, etc. — not sure that’s a $100m+ business idea, however? Unless maybe someone builds the Snowflake or AWS equivalent of broad-based cryptographically-secure and distributed backup solutions? Like a Backblaze competitor, maybe? IDK
I also think NWC is woefully under-utilised. Just seems to be an @npub1get…0nfm project that no one else gives a fuck about — which is a great shame. It seems to me to be extremely powerful, but the UX needs to be *way* more “Sign in with Google” and much less “Scan this QR/paste this string”.

2026-07-07 22:27:15 UTC

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Thanks for flagging Shosho.
I’m looking, which is why I’m posting — nothing Antidote has been willing to back, yet.
ZBD Social wasn’t needed for games with Nostr to succeed. That’s still compliant payments. When I think big, I think an EVE Online relay could speak to a Star Citizen relay… but that’s a way off and valuable use case for gaming still TBC. The low-hanging fruit is replicating what Zynga did with Words with Friends, but totally platform agnostic. It wouldn’t be the first game that demonstrates why this is powerful (the first Nostr game just needs to be a good game; it doesn’t even need Nostr). It would be games two and three that blow it up. Clash of Clans then Guilds of War, or whatever you want to call it, but with persistent guilds. And payments. And chat.
Saves game devs massive of custom build effort, potentially. But the back-end is orders of magnitude less important than very, very strong game design.

2026-07-07 22:01:23 UTC

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Absolutely. The Nostr protocol is a social protocol. It is 100% the secret sauce that makes it exciting. Especially with the flexibility it offers, and payments built-in.
But it also creates developer space that leads to nowhere. “Omg check out what I can do with my HTTP app!” says nothing to a potential customer.
“Play games with friends, trade and chat on all your devices” says something to a customer (demand and product TBD)

2026-07-07 21:52:28 UTC

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Case in point: posts a couple of notes for the first time in a while, gets a load of bot follows and bullshit spam DMs.
Yes, Twitter and Telegram have these problems, too, but that’s the same as “the restaurant next door has shit service, too”.

2026-07-07 21:41:52 UTC

These days, I tend to only find time to engage with Nostr when on holiday. That’s sort of just life, nowadays, but also a symptom of the fact that there are zero products to create daily engagement. For example:
1. Nothing new in social. Nostr does *not* have the social graph to compete, so it has to be innovation or games that drive engagement. There’s no innovation, and there are no games of note.
2. Productivity tools. This could be significant, but no one in Nostr seems to give a shit, because it’s just a big Bitcoin echo chamber.
3. Creator economy. Also could be good, but every project I see goes down some weird psychodrama path where there’s too much obsession with key ownership, anonymity or some other area that isn’t the problem a creator economy platform is meant to solve.
The protocol is not the app. Are you working on the protocol, or are you creating an app?
So many parallels with the Bitcoin ecosystem (unsurprisingly) as well.

2026-07-07 21:28:57 UTC

Nostr clients still suck. Primal got worse, not better.
Everything a poor twitter clone isn’t the way forward.
Exciting projects: White Noise (stalled? No one cares?), NostrVPN, diVine (bad name, bad launch), zapstream, GitHub replacements… Nostr as “more-than-socials” basically.
The medium/substack clones aren’t a big enough market.

2026-07-07 20:39:19 UTC

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Yes. This experience is shit. As is the 3-4 different NIPs for DMs. I used to keep up to know the difference, but why should I? I’m basically only interested in White Noise as a project now, and absolutely no one’s using it.
For me, Nostr as an ecosystem is pretty lost right now. Like Mastodon 10 years ago (and Mastodon is still nowhere).

2026-05-20 18:44:09 UTC

I’m looking for founders in Bitcoin looking at the creator economy, agentic payments and B2B fintech.
If this resonates, hit me up. DM, X, Telegram, wherever.

2026-04-28 00:05:22 UTC

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It gets better and better!
#nevent1q…2w92

2026-04-27 09:29:08 UTC

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🤘April 30, Old Blue Last, Fountain Live. DO NOT MISS IT! Open Bar and great music.
https://fountain.fm/episode/C2rNmBA6faK2wzlXU6SR
#nevent1q…f6yt

2026-04-09 20:22:47 UTC

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Come see it all in action! https://luma.com/ysna282n

2026-04-01 23:11:06 UTC

@nprofile…x3qd your spark wallet upgrade totally f’d the UX for the dozens of us that use NWC. Borked.

2026-04-01 23:09:19 UTC

Literally no one is discussing the fact that Soulwax came storming back to form and fucking crushed a tour.
WHEN DID WE FAIL OURSELVES
https://open.spotify.com/track/0mJpqRwSyC44rJfYZn4If0

2026-02-23 18:24:37 UTC

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Yes

2026-01-30 00:12:21 UTC

Mood.
https://images.fineartamerica.com/images/artworkimages/mediumlarge/1/snuffleupagus-sesame-street.jpg

2026-01-14 10:44:03 UTC

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👀 New music alert!
I’m not sure what artist etiquette is on favourite children, but this is the track I’ve been most excited to put out for some time.
Enjoy!
#nevent1q…spyg

2026-01-11 18:05:32 UTC

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Thank you @nprofile…4sem! ❤️

2026-01-09 22:31:14 UTC

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Help, it’s me in a nutshell

2026-01-07 23:50:43 UTC

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Something happened on the day he died;
Spirit rose a metre and stepped aside;
Somebody else took his place, and bravely cried:
I'm a blackstar, I'm a blackstar!
#nevent1q…sa3q

2026-01-04 21:49:21 UTC

@nprofile…n2f3 it would be extremely helpful if the app could automatically pull in runs/exercise from Apple Health, Garmin, and other fitness trackers.

2026-01-04 21:48:03 UTC

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IRL at Antidote

2026-01-04 20:07:23 UTC

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I'm meeting with @nprofile…69rx on Friday if you wanted to join?

2025-12-30 16:12:23 UTC

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Have faith: we are back.
#nevent1q…zr3c

2025-12-30 08:27:26 UTC

The Steam Deck is such a great device. I play so much more. Completed Dishonored (2012) last night—what a great game.

2025-12-30 08:20:53 UTC

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You have my vote and I’m happy to help! Let’s get something organised in London! 💪🎤👨‍🎤

2025-12-30 08:04:12 UTC

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Terrific podcast. The work @npub1c39…2lhm @npub1v5u…n0v5 @npub1yfg…v6vg are doing to ensure artists are paid fairly is tremendous. 👏
https://fountain.fm/episode/75ezEFrfCkTbou6AwiDA
#nevent1q…fxv4

2025-12-29 23:15:35 UTC

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The pace of my first run after Christmas.
#nevent1q…7l7x

2025-12-29 22:53:06 UTC

OK @nprofile…n2f3 let’s go.

2025-12-29 18:14:03 UTC

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This is absolutely accurate and something I personally push for: whether you’re curious or skeptical, download it and run it before you buy it.
#nevent1q…2ur4

2025-12-24 16:58:31 UTC

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These devices pull us out of reality as opposed to blending in. Endless distraction from the present moment, sponsored by Geico.
We need to look up, not down. Physical connections are better than Digital ones. The sooner we reconnect with each other in a meaningful context, the better.

2025-12-24 16:53:21 UTC

Whatever device is to follow the smartphone cannot come soon enough.

2025-12-22 06:11:16 UTC

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Currently playing Dishonored (2012). Fantastic story.

2025-12-21 17:09:42 UTC

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@npub1c39…2lhm

2025-12-21 17:08:51 UTC

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New music. Next week.
V4V exclusive thereafter.
#nevent1q…862l

2025-12-20 13:15:20 UTC

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Did you ever play Splitgate with Bitcoin?

2025-12-13 19:17:00 UTC

Given how cultural trends cycle (mine loved everything 80s, Gen Z loves everything 90s), I’d guess we’re going to see the resurgence of indie rock and emo in about 5-7 years.

2025-12-10 10:01:54 UTC

Vibe https://open.spotify.com/track/1xsEHo7mtGZLEG94vFX11z

2025-12-09 21:06:27 UTC

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People want cool apps that entertain them or make their lives better. That never changed.

2025-12-09 02:02:42 UTC

Botstr…

2025-12-09 00:51:03 UTC

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*crickets*

2025-12-08 09:20:28 UTC

Genuinely asking: what’s the best iOS nostr client now?

2025-11-28 00:59:32 UTC

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Four legs good, two legs bad.

2025-11-28 00:57:51 UTC

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1,000,000%
#nevent1q…zuf6

2025-11-12 21:44:16 UTC

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Fantastic news.

2025-11-12 00:59:48 UTC

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https://tech.eu/2025/10/29/antidote-accelerator-launches-to-fuel-the-uks-next-fintech-and-bitcoin-wave/

2025-11-12 00:58:05 UTC

so I launched Antidote and didn’t tell nostr… yikes
London has a Bitcoin hub.
antidotebtc.com

2025-11-12 00:39:01 UTC

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So much.

2025-08-18 11:16:17 UTC

Jehnny Beth goes from strength to strength. Fucking sick. https://youtu.be/lV6QBbsKz-g

2025-08-01 09:56:42 UTC

None of the iOS nostr apps are good for multiple account management… right?

2025-07-31 21:26:03 UTC

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The entire “Still” LP is one of his best records, very overlooked. https://youtu.be/D5tjy9rNvEc

2025-07-31 19:58:39 UTC

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Just saw them on the European leg of the tour. Still incredible.
https://blossom.primal.net/ce3da1e66d2b2c9b7bd2be97479af95debdaba729515b985a70f982e3ef30101.jpg

2025-07-31 19:32:09 UTC

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The best fucking band in the whole world, and one of the best albums of all time.
Check out this version: https://youtu.be/y7fsHtkNU7w

2025-07-10 08:45:38 UTC

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Big congrats!

2025-07-10 08:39:18 UTC

What’s hot in v4v music right now? @nprofile…wyx7 @nprofile…eev0 🎧

2025-07-01 18:22:09 UTC

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Well done guys! Great to see!

2025-06-16 22:06:50 UTC

Have faith.
https://blossom.primal.net/b06faf742a3d8da22408322317d3b1dce5a07b374c2dbfa37c7764664f94a721.mov

2025-06-11 17:49:21 UTC

https://open.spotify.com/track/5YniFjdw9nU8jCzvWlVVQC
https://blossom.primal.net/75e64e2615f700b1cef2a1bd131fe4ff767a4224de299990fab6cf130bc7e702.jpg

2025-06-07 14:25:30 UTC

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Why I never water cool

2025-05-31 05:53:56 UTC

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Sorry to have missed you this year!

2025-05-20 11:41:12 UTC

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💯

2025-05-18 15:40:20 UTC

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No you didn’t

2025-05-17 09:01:42 UTC

Trent Reznor is now 60 years old. 😬

2025-05-14 19:30:20 UTC

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Yep

2025-05-13 23:12:22 UTC

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1986 or 1996?

2025-05-10 05:57:20 UTC

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LOVE to see this.

2025-05-01 14:00:24 UTC

The arrogance displayed in the complete ignorance of Marie Antoinette’s “let them eat cake” was what so enraged the masses.
https://gizmodo.com/marc-andreessen-says-one-job-is-mostly-safe-from-ai-venture-capitalist-2000596506

2025-04-30 15:01:26 UTC

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Shots fired!

2025-04-30 15:00:51 UTC

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Crosses and Blood 😍

2025-04-30 11:43:51 UTC

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Have you used Olas?

2025-04-30 10:13:18 UTC

Another glorious day for inglorious music. https://open.spotify.com/track/67MkU3b7k2fBL6oHHUiM09

2025-04-30 10:11:33 UTC

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I like them! I mainly use iPhone then have a Canon AE-1 when I want to use film. I like distorting and collaging images a lot, to bring some gothic anxiety into the mix, but I love the naturalism and framing of your shots.

2025-04-30 10:06:17 UTC

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Like these vibes. What camera are you using?

2025-04-29 10:52:58 UTC

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They’ve been the go-to reference for a lot of the post punk revival that started in London in 2019/20. The original Black Country, New Road material drove the most comparisons, but I think it was a little overdone (critics thought comparisons made them sound clever imo). To me, Slint sit very squarely in Gen X apathy and I love it.

2025-04-29 10:45:42 UTC

It’s beautifully sunny outside so I’m listening to Slint. https://open.spotify.com/track/6zWbR4y3nTpXQ2YvXwvf56

2025-04-25 20:56:28 UTC

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Oh snap!

2025-04-21 14:54:18 UTC

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I would look past the illustrator’s work as they are not the author.
I think it was in 2013 that Prince said “the internet is over” to The Guardian. He was ridiculed for the statement at the time, but the gap between what an artist tries to convey and what the audience understands is often wide. I increasingly see the statement as very prescient. The internet isn’t what it was. Feeds are alienating, opt-in spam, and websites are a dying art.
On Nostr, we herald the ability to rectify much of this while we also paradoxically create an even more powerful and dangerous incentive: money for engagement.
On balance, I do feel it is likely to be an improvement: at the very least, the financial relationship between creation, creator and audience is direct and transparent. In an optimistic light, real artists and true quality will rise to the top and have the means to go further… but rarely does the utopian vision for a technology play out.
I remain hopeful, because the contemporary internet is indeed rather shite.

2025-04-21 11:48:25 UTC

Nice piece (paywall): https://www.ft.com/content/5d06bbb4-0034-493b-8b0d-5c0ab74bedef

2025-04-18 17:15:42 UTC

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To be fair, I’m a goth rock and post punk fan… I’d rather scream “now I’m nothing” over a broken guitar.

2025-04-18 17:13:13 UTC

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Lots here to think and talk about. Matt and Marty have a lot to learn about gaming.
Lightnite/Satoshi’s Games definitely didn’t fail because of it being a development sinkhole, and it certainly wasn’t going to fix anything by switching chains.
Stay tuned for PC gaming with Bitcoin news. Nothing to report any time soon, but we haven’t forgotten that world at all at ZBD. Quite the opposite.

2025-04-18 17:08:12 UTC

There’s something deeply depressing about a song whose chorus is belting out “I want to be forever young” over a generic pounding dance beat.

2025-03-31 22:17:23 UTC

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*Bluesky is _still_ shit. Everything now deleted.

2025-03-31 22:11:08 UTC

Bluesky is shit.

2025-03-31 19:33:58 UTC

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This is why scaling custodially can be acceptable today. We should drive usage; it’s good. Not everyone can own a UTXO.
#nevent1q…gn6w

2025-03-31 19:32:20 UTC

The trick with AI seems to be establishing baseline user need and then picking the right model for the job & charging for it.

2025-03-29 17:28:09 UTC

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yes plz

2025-03-27 01:49:50 UTC

3 tracks coming soon… https://theholyhour.faith
Wail, scream, cry and shout
All in search of some way out
I am just an imitation
Someone else’s machination

2025-03-26 06:03:31 UTC

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🫡

2025-03-26 05:44:43 UTC

The free-banking has begun. https://youtu.be/vDub5pjG8Xw

2025-03-25 04:48:28 UTC

I feel ready to re-engage with social media. I have words I can articulate; le jeu, blasé, se met comfortable et se laisse passer.
But where to even start? Nowhere is cool anymore.

2025-03-25 04:02:19 UTC

🌞 Vibes 🌞

2025-03-18 23:23:12 UTC

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Hey D, you should speak with @npub1yre…q23f

2025-02-26 00:01:56 UTC

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Primal auto-zapped “coffee on me,” but I’d honestly love this and would be so in your debt I’d owe you a starfish with that coffee.

2025-02-25 08:46:43 UTC

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😬🫣

2025-02-25 07:12:37 UTC

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About time you shared some good music.

2025-02-21 16:32:45 UTC

Disgraceful. https://news.sky.com/story/apple-removes-advanced-security-tool-over-uk-government-row-13314003

2025-02-09 17:22:29 UTC

How does it feel
To treat me like you do?
When you’ve laid your hands upon me
And told me who you are.

2025-02-06 00:41:08 UTC

It’s 2025 and it’s still very difficult to find people on Nostr.

2025-02-01 08:38:48 UTC

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While a legendary moment in music history, Prince was deeply unhappy with the night. He idolised James Brown and choked when he was invited on stage. Deeply competitive, he felt he needed to upstage MJ, but froze both on guitar and vocals. Hence the “weirdness” of his performance. MJ and Prince would go on to have an extremely competitive relationship throughout the 80s.

2025-01-30 18:28:28 UTC

I wish my thoughts and insights were a bit more whimsical, but life gets so grown-up.
I miss David Lynch’s weather reports already. I remember listening to them on KROQ in LA back in 2006/7.
Such a little slice of bizarre delight for almost 20 years.

2025-01-30 18:27:04 UTC

Thinking.
Networks with low user bases but extraordinary reach are not Social Networks. They are Influence Networks. There are varying degrees of influence networks, and I believe this description better aligns with the monetisation model.
Don’t confuse them with Social Networks, which have essentially fallen apart (at least the 1.0 form).
…And don’t confuse Social Networks with Social Graphs.
The next social network could be built on this social graph, but there’s a lot to build.