Susie
Susie Violet Ward

Andy Burnham is scrapping the Labour government’s digital ID scheme as one of his first acts as prime minister.
The policy was never included in Labour’s 2024 manifesto. Despite this, Keir Starmer announced it last September as a tool to combat illegal migration, following strong encouragement from Tony Blair and former Conservative leader William Hague.
Blair has been the persistent driving force behind this undemocratic push for two decades.
As prime minister he tried to introduce national ID cards through the Identity Cards Act 2006. Billions were spent before the scheme was abandoned in 2010. His Tony Blair Institute then continued lobbying heavily for digital ID, publishing reports and recommendations that helped shape the Starmer government’s plans.
The public response was overwhelming. Nearly three million people signed a petition opposing the scheme, while a four hour parliamentary debate saw MPs from across the political spectrum warn that it threatened privacy, civil liberties and the principle of public consent.
The government was eventually forced to drop the compulsory element for workers, but it continued trying to advance the broader digital ID infrastructure under a softer, rebranded model.
That disregard for manifesto commitments, parliamentary concern and enormous public resistance was deeply troubling.
Burnham is now ending the programme, with hundreds of millions of pounds in projected annual costs redirected towards cost-of-living support rather than another expensive, centralised state project.
That money will not solve the cost-of-living crisis, and whether families feel any meaningful benefit remains to be seen. Even so, choosing immediate help for ordinary people over a controversial national identity system is a major and very welcome decision.
Tony Blair has pushed this idea relentlessly for years, despite repeated rejection from the public.
This is a victory, but I would not assume the battle is over.
Why do I suspect digital ID will return under another name?
https://blossom.primal.net/847639ecca222991b1adb4cef2d5d38f1a8b9da0cb83db485d0b49fe2b61d44f.jpg

2026-07-18 10:36:40 UTC

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https://www.forbes.com/sites/digital-assets/2025/01/07/new-eu-rules-threaten-your-security--what-you-need-to-know/

2026-07-18 10:36:17 UTC

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https://primal.net/e/nevent1qqsq6tzlpv3kt3uasgey8mcck4pcnxxv39ckt0jz6s58stanq4cfatssrtde9

2026-07-18 10:35:24 UTC

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https://primal.net/e/nevent1qqspc89ghncftg7qh56pyvf09rnxf2eqthuhpewya5g5r0xgejrd76s78h960

2026-07-18 10:34:47 UTC

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The Travel Rule is not about stopping crime.
It didn’t work in TradFi and now they’re forcing the same failed surveillance architecture onto Bitcoin.
Once they link every tx to real IDs, self custody and privacy are gone.
Efrat’s piece explains how this fits into the bigger 'Digital Cage' rolling out in 2026.
We either fight for financial privacy now or watch Bitcoin become another tool of control.
See links below for key excerpts from the article and relevant posts.
#nevent1q…mzss

2026-07-17 07:11:18 UTC

El Salvador’s government has the power to tap phones and read private messages without a warrant, while branding itself as the ultimate Bitcoin freedom project.
The reality is that self-censorship has become normal for anyone who dares question the government.
Chivo collected biometric data from millions of Salvadorans, creating a national honeypot. More than 80% of the population’s private information was later reportedly leaked onto the dark web, including facial images, addresses and dates of birth. Chivo denies that the leak came from its systems.
Top-down narratives sold as sovereign and decentralised can erode the very principles they claim to champion.
When a government wraps mass surveillance in the Bitcoin flag, it becomes more dangerous by borrowing the language of freedom to disguise control.
Joe’s latest video asks the questions much of the space refuses to confront.
Awesome work @nprofile…mtx5.
Full video here:
https://youtu.be/ebwdRjXWVKs?si=1242h9TaV2EEDBU_

2026-07-17 06:27:36 UTC

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🙌

2026-07-16 06:50:53 UTC

A GoFundMe campaign raised more than £55,000 for a Gazan family trying to escape the war.
Most of the money raised never reached them.
Banking rules and sanctions prevent direct payouts in Gaza, so the funds had to go through an intermediary. When that arrangement collapsed, the family was left without the support raised for them.
Bitcoin platforms like Agora and Geyser send funds directly to recipients’ own wallets, using community verification instead of giving control to a single intermediary.
Read how these tools are helping people in crisis.
My latest piece in Forbes featuring @nprofile…4f77 @nprofile…erlj @nprofile…485v @npub1zhq…h0dw @nprofile…4s58.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/digital-assets/2026/07/16/when-the-financial-system-cant-reach-people-in-crisis-bitcoin-can/

2026-07-15 09:56:01 UTC

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🧡

2026-07-14 10:56:45 UTC

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I didn’t realise how much I'd written until I pulled it all into one place.
150+ articles across bitcoin, energy, freedom and CBDCs!
Great suggestion @nprofile…6w6f!
https://blossom.primal.net/19df1e5241e5fea78474f5fc8f406390fb078e2ac44a495150480a88ec1685e9.jpg
#nevent1q…ty9v

2026-07-14 07:50:58 UTC

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https://primal.net/e/nevent1qqsrnzw332a27z866cpt257awgsjgpn9smn62wmx9902a9wewfnvkscd68zcz

2026-07-14 07:49:32 UTC

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https://primal.net/e/nevent1qqs0pmavfhrtm3p07uu86hn0ky5f5zpg0mn8ls43pntthx7hvpck0cg9cs42p

2026-07-14 07:48:51 UTC

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Watch the full talk here:
https://youtu.be/ovRr9BKfPH0
@nprofile…wqgt @nprofile…h5tf @npub1mft…rkl3

2026-07-14 07:47:35 UTC

When governments shut down your communications or a platform debanks you, what’s your backup plan?
Listening to activists at the Oslo Freedom Forum describing surveillance, censorship and financial exclusion, one thing stood out. For nearly every problem they raised, builders were already working on solutions.
It became the opening to my talk at @npub167n…zu3r. In this clip, I explain why CBDCs may not arrive in the form people expect and why stablecoins can carry many of the same risks.
Full video, article and practical tools linked below.
Freedom depends on having money that no government, bank or platform can switch off.
Bitcoin gives us that option.
https://blossom.primal.net/02c7d702f5b8bc1ddd0728ebe6982af34b8e042ba4f9f63afc1c28991c8731f9.mov

2026-07-13 10:31:45 UTC

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Thanks, Gigi! I loved not having to use a template and being able to build whatever popped into my head.
It’s so nice having everything in one place and it’ll be fun adding more little sprinkles! 🤗

2026-07-13 09:00:15 UTC

What you can build in a week now is actually insane. I’ve prompt built a website and I’m blown away by what was possible.
Everything I’ve done across Bitcoin, policy and journalism is now in one place.
If you have time I would appreciate some feedback. What works? What doesn’t? What did I miss?
Constructive criticism very welcome!
Full website:
https://pressfiles.media
Link also in bio!
#ProofOfWork #Bitcoin
https://blossom.primal.net/5f4bff71233d3354ebc963bae8ae1cc698ee690b948327af8486bd90aec1fe6b.mov

2026-07-02 12:30:12 UTC

If it’s not “for the children,” it’s “national security.”
FATF’s new roadmap calls for greater use of large datasets, real-time information sharing and closer cooperation between tech, telecoms and finance to tackle fraud.
Traditional finance already collects vast amounts of identity and transaction data and serious financial crime continues at scale.
The same approach is now being extended further, linking identity and financial activity across more systems.
This turns law-abiding citizens into targets for both increased surveillance and physical attacks.
My latest in Forbes.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/digital-assets/2026/07/02/fatfs-fraud-roadmap-expands-data-risks-and-global-surveillance/

2026-07-01 06:32:04 UTC

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Surveillance architecture becomes reality in Australia today.
AUSTRAC’s Travel Rule is now live with *zero threshold*.
Even a $5 transfer through a centralised exchange can trigger Travel Rule checks, requiring firms to collect and share identifying information.
These honeypots turn law abiding citizens into targets for hackers, they do not stop financial crime.
Then there's the 'Cold Wallet Squeeze'. Exchanges are forcing users to declare or verify ownership of self custody wallet addresses before allowing withdrawals.
This links real world identity to self custody wallets, turning Bitcoin’s open ledger into a map of ownership tied to named individuals.
Best move? Avoid centralised exchanges where possible. Use non-custodial P2P options like @nprofile…87dl @nprofile…vnw9 @nprofile…cc8h.
Full article:
https://cointelegraph.com/news/australias-crypto-travel-rule-takes-effect-on-july-1-whats-changing
#nevent1q…3cvq

2026-06-30 08:20:10 UTC

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This is the real world consequence of regulation driven data collection.
Once identity, transaction history and asset ownership are linked and stored, the risk no longer stays online.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/digital-assets/2026/02/20/how-regulation-and-data-collection-are-creating-physical-security-risk/

2026-06-30 08:19:39 UTC

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The Travel Rule forces firms to collect, hold and transmit personal data about the people behind transactions.
This creates databases that link identity, transaction history and asset ownership, turning ordinary users into targets for hacks and physical attacks.
I wrote about the EU rollout in Forbes last year and how these rules threaten user security by forcing more personal financial data to be collected, stored and shared.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/digital-assets/2025/01/07/new-eu-rules-threaten-your-security--what-you-need-to-know/

2026-06-30 08:18:58 UTC

Global regulators built the FATF Travel Rule for a banking system still full of illicit finance.
Now they are imposing the same surveillance architecture on Bitcoin.
The rule was created by G7 countries through an unelected body in France. It was sold as a way to stop money laundering by forcing information to travel with every transaction.
Decades later, the UN still estimates money laundering at 2 - 5% of global GDP. The model has failed in TradFi.
https://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/money-laundering/overview.html
Regulators now want to apply that same framework to Bitcoin, which is an open, auditable ledger with a completely different risk profile.
Chainalysis’ 2026 Crypto Crime Report shows stablecoins accounted for 84% of illicit transaction volume in 2025, while Bitcoin is still being pulled into a surveillance regime designed for banks and centralised intermediaries and a financial system struggling to stop illicit finance at scale.
https://www.chainalysis.com/blog/2026-crypto-crime-report-introduction/
The Travel Rule forces firms to collect, hold and transmit personal information about the people behind transactions.
This creates databases that link identity, transaction history and asset ownership in ways that expose ordinary users to hacks, targeting and physical security risks.
FATF has updated it’s recommendations as part of a global push for payment transparency. As a result it is being expanded, embedded and normalised.
This solves nothing but creates unprecedented harm by forcing more personal financial data to be collected, stored and shared.
This clip is from the @nprofile…ur7h podcast with @nprofile…22x4 and Ben Samocha at Bitcoin Vegas last year.
The warning has only grown more urgent.
Bitcoin does not need TradFi’s failed surveillance architecture wrapped around it.
https://blossom.primal.net/1dd5ba868652a21aee8179e3fd4e0eaddcce2a66e6096e1524087822963f04e6.mov

2026-06-29 09:10:09 UTC

Jeremy Grantham’s latest CNBC comments are a perfect example of what happens when traditional finance tries to judge Bitcoin using an old framework.
Had these comments been about crypto, I would have nodded along. Much of that market has proved to be speculative and altcoin season is not coming back.
This was not a discussion about the crypto casino. He was speaking in front of a Bitcoin chart, while the segment drifted between 'crypto' and Bitcoin as though they were the same thing, which tells you how little precision sat behind the critique.
Bitcoin deserves a more serious discussion than recycled talking points about crooks, dividends and supermarket payments.
He called it a 'useless speculative mechanism' and said it would 'dwindle away' over decades, 'not with a bang but a whimper.'
He asked why people do not use it to buy dinner or pay at the supermarket.
Then came the line:
“What it does is allows crooks to move money around without leaving a trace.”
That is not dismissive… it’s wrong.
It is not a stock, a company, or a bond. It does not have earnings, dividends, cash flow, a management team, or a board of directors, because it was not designed to be valued like those things.
It is a decentralised monetary network with:
- no CEO
- no central bank
- no political control
- no bailouts
- no off switch
- a fixed 21 million supply that cannot be inflated on demand.
The 'without leaving a trace' claim really misunderstands the system.
Bitcoin is a public ledger and every base layer transaction is recorded. It is far more traceable than cash, which is why law enforcement, analytics firms and exchanges have spent years building tools around that transparency.
The 'people don’t buy dinner with it' argument is also wrong and lazy. Gold is not judged by how often it is used at the supermarket.
Bitcoin allows people to store and transfer value across borders, outside a system suffering from inflation, surveillance, debanking, capital controls and political discretion.
Then there is proof of work, which Grantham dismissed as 'proof of unnecessary work.'
That 'work' is what secures the network. It is what makes Bitcoin expensive to attack, impossible to rewrite and different from the thousands of tokens that can be changed, paused, printed or controlled by insiders.
That is a stock market framework being applied to an open monetary protocol.
Bitcoin has already survived bans, crashes, exchange failures, media attacks, regulatory assaults, energy panic, criminality narratives and repeated predictions of its death. That is not dwindling away.
Grantham is not watching Bitcoin disappear, he is watching the old framework fail to explain it.
So if the price worries you, remember what this actually is...
A 17 year old monetary network separating money from state and challenging some of the oldest assumptions in finance.
We are still early!
Full article:
https://www.cnbc.com/amp/2026/06/26/billionaire-investor-jeremy-grantham-says-bitcoin-will-dwindle-away-with-a-whimper.html
https://blossom.primal.net/95321a72122c19db37b2a189f1666a8c5fb6a4757e9be574985ca79a3fa8d1e5.mov

2026-06-28 07:24:19 UTC

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🔥

2026-06-25 09:31:52 UTC

Money detached from energy corrupts society.
That is exactly what we are living through right now as endless money printing eats away at wages, destroys savings, funds government waste and moves wealth upwards.
When money is broken the entire system built around it breaks too.
I love fairy lights and I think they are a beautiful use of energy because they bring joy, warmth and a little bit of magic.
Using energy to secure a global peer-to-peer money that anyone on Earth can use without needing government permission is one of the best uses of energy on the planet.
Bitcoin achieves this through Proof of Work by tying money back to energy with a real cost which is exactly what makes it sound, permissionless and decentralised.
When money has a cost it cannot be printed endlessly by governments or banks so it forces discipline back into the system, reduces waste and malinvestment and helps people plan for the long term instead of being pushed into debt, speculation, and short term consumption.
Securing sound money through energy is not waste.
It is one of the highest and most important uses of energy humanity can choose right now.
https://blossom.primal.net/d8155df029def7f46b4a997c05faeefd3cfd3f93b12ef33aa391e11cb59f87b0.mov

2026-06-24 14:06:43 UTC

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Behind the scenes with @nprofile…nwq6 in a Mercedes at @npub167n…zu3r.
We spoke about The Six Billion Dollar Man, Assange, censorship and the economics of truth.
https://blossom.primal.net/4f6b2138e77d050b358c22e12b1c5b6f95576daeae1d34644087a99309082c16.jpg

2026-06-24 13:35:05 UTC

Hollywood loves a whistleblower story once the danger has passed.
Eugene Jarecki’s The Six Billion Dollar Man arrives while the danger is still attached.
Major platforms privately praised it … then said no.
Now it’s bypassing them with Bitcoin and Nostr on June 27.
My latest in Forbes featuring @nprofile…nwq6 @nprofile…tzjn Julian Assange @npub167n…zu3r.
Full article:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/digital-assets/2026/06/24/the-julian-assange-film-streamers-wouldnt-touch-turns-to-bitcoin/
https://blossom.primal.net/79daad57e86c2511622d438c32b1f61d720185f7cc8bb78b64f7de7f0ea01f38.jpg

2026-06-23 13:36:17 UTC

The UK's revolving door of prime ministers highlights a structural problem of chronic policy inconsistency and short termism.
Persistent deficits, debt now around 95% of GDP and weak productivity have left successive governments with very little fiscal room.
Governments too often behave as if the Laffer Curve is irrelevant, reaching for higher taxes while ignoring the point at which the tax base starts to shrink as capital, talent and businesses leave.
Capital goes where it is treated best.
The harder and more important work is supply side reform, fiscal credibility and productivity growth, but that has repeatedly been undermined by short political horizons.
The speed of technological change, especially in finance and digital assets, only makes long term planning harder. Policy too often reflects well resourced lobbying rather than deep technical expertise.
Without credible rules and a commitment to growth over short term fixes, any new prime minister will inherit the same constraints.
https://www.ft.com/content/cd15556f-8f52-4b7a-8af9-578fdbbaa9c6?sharetype=blocked

2026-06-22 13:42:25 UTC

Britain does not need another chapter of managed decline dressed up as stability.
I was quoted in @CCNCitizens on what Keir Starmer’s departure could mean for the UK:
“Keir Starmer’s resignation ends a chapter of broken promises, regulatory and authoritarian overreach and economic stagnation.
Britain needs a shift to sound money, innovation, and better rules on energy, tech, digital assets and Bitcoin to avoid another cycle of decline.
Stability comes from empowering individuals over failing institutions.”
Full article:
https://www.ccn.com/news/crypto/keir-starmer-resignation-uk-crypto-policy/
https://blossom.primal.net/d3e755555ba70c67218bc2ae82ad918c6b553a02303573f4b5f82fac17353d93.jpg

2026-06-22 06:30:47 UTC

My great uncle Geoff helped build Colossus, the codebreaking machine used at Bletchley Park during WW2.
Bletchley Park was also known as Station X and Colossus helped crack the Nazis’ highest level codes.
He couldn't tell anybody what he had done during the war.
For 50 years, he had to stay silent while his friends and family knew nothing about his work. Some even thought he was a coward because the work was so secret.
It was only in the mid 90s that he was finally able to talk about it.
When the secret came out, we were able to do a tour of Bletchley Park as a family while he told us of his work, and everyone was blown away by what he had done and kept quiet for five decades.
He was a GPO civilian who started at Bletchley Park in December 1942 and stayed until May 1945 working in Block F Newmanry.
He operated equipment including Colossus to decrypt German teleprinter ciphers the highest level Nazi Lorenz codes.
The Colossus was the world's first programmable electronic computer, and they gave the Allies a massive advantage.
That same world of codebreaking, computing and cryptography eventually led to the cypherpunk movement. Then to Bitcoin a money system built with maths computation and open networks rather than trust in governments or central banks.
At a time when so many people feel Britain has lost its nerve, Bletchley is a reminder of what this country can do when it backs intelligence, engineering, courage and hard problems.
We have done it before and we can do it again.
As Nolan says in the clip ... we can't let England go to the dogs!
https://blossom.primal.net/547f0b454f69bdb96d693f61e54e6c7826804347c715dbb7ba469a37e2911b6b.mov

2026-06-18 11:36:18 UTC

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“Rather than solving the problem, the policy risks pushing children into less visible online spaces while expanding identity checks and surveillance for everyone else.”
Full article here:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/digital-assets/2026/06/17/uks-under-16-social-media-ban-risks-digital-id-expansion/
#nevent1q…gr65

2026-06-17 10:25:45 UTC

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The VPN point is where this gets messier…. the pressure to close every workaround becomes inevitable.

2026-06-17 10:08:07 UTC

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Interesting, isn’t it!!! We keep being told this is about ‘protecting children’ but when serious failures involving children emerge, there often seems to be more focus on managing the narrative than pursuing accountability. 🤔

2026-06-17 08:03:02 UTC

The UK government claims its social media ban for under 16s is about protecting children.
Broadcaster Bev Turner described the policy as “the creaking of a digital cage door dressed up as a welcoming velvet rope.”
Ministers are using child safety to roll out age verification that could force facial scanning and digital identity checks on everyone ... not just kids.
This is how surveillance and control get sold as child protection while building systems that give the state and corporations unprecedented power over people’s lives.
My latest piece in Forbes.
@nprofile…knh6 @npub1kds…nsze
https://www.forbes.com/sites/digital-assets/2026/06/17/uks-under-16-social-media-ban-risks-digital-id-expansion/

2026-06-16 10:10:41 UTC

At @npub167n…zu3r I joined Gareth from The Starting Block to discuss UK policy, media misinformation and the hype around Bitcoin treasury companies.
We discussed how mainstream media has damaged Bitcoin’s reputation and public understanding of what it actually is, and how policymakers still lump Bitcoin in with crypto.
That means a protocol with a scarce asset is still being treated the same as meme coins. This is why Bitcoin only advocacy is so important.
@nprofile…sfsu has been fighting this for years on a shoestring budget. While dedicated groups struggle for funding, most corporate capital still seems to prefer generalised crypto lobby groups or more fashionable market narratives instead.
In the treasury companies space, the concept has seen a massive wave of copycats emerge over the last 18 months and we have not weathered a full cycle. Many are still experimental financial engineering often involving dilution, leverage and yield chasing.
The term is meaningless ... a coffee shop or dog groomer can now call themselves a treasury company just by holding some.
Holding bitcoin on the balance sheet alone does not make a company special. There still needs to be a real business underneath it, otherwise bitcoin is being used as the marketing.
B Hodl gets a special mention here as an example of a company holding bitcoin while actually building infrastructure and solving real problems.
We need education, sound policy and real examples like this instead of more blurred lines with crypto or untested fiat games.
Bitcoin benefits from corporate adoption, but not all adoption is equal.
@nprofile…26yw @nprofile…dq0h @nprofile…a5e7
Full interview below.
https://blossom.primal.net/bafa6b24f34c8d109c1fba7cfd66ffe4a6aaa7a8aadd5d5bc2167e5d535b7dd3.mov

2026-06-15 13:27:06 UTC

This is another great advert for bitcoin, Nostr and separating money and state.
Nobody serious thinks social media is creating a happy, healthy environment for children. The harms from addictive apps, algorithmic feeds, cyberbullying, adult content, predators, body image pressure, endless scrolling and destroyed attention spans are obvious.
The problem is that banning things rarely works, especially when technology is moving faster than the digitally illiterate policy class trying to control it.
This will push children onto VPNs, fake accounts, encrypted groups, offshore platforms, unregulated apps and darker corners of the internet where parents have even less visibility.
It risks turning a difficult parenting problem into a surveillance and identity checking regime for everyone, while giving families the false comfort that the state has 'solved' something it barely understands.
We have already seen this pattern with online age checks. The rules come in, VPN use surges, people route around the system, privacy gets weaker, and the children most at risk are driven further underground.
Australia’s under 16 ban has already shown enforcement problems, with children learning how to evade the controls rather than becoming meaningfully safer.
The really depressing part is how familiar this all feels. We have seen it in bitcoin policy for years.
The people with the worst incentives, the least technical understanding and the biggest lobbying budgets somehow end up with the ear of government, while people who actually understand the technology are ignored.
It is a total shit show.
The answer is not more state control over speech, money, identity and childhood. The answer is better parenting, better tools, better communities, better education, and less blind faith in governments with a proven track record of making problems worse.
Handing more power to the state every time society gets scared is how we sleepwalk into something far more dangerous.
Critics have already warned about enforcement, privacy and children moving to less regulated spaces.
Research on age verification and the UK Online Safety Act also points to VPN spikes and privacy concerns after age checks. At the same time, early analysis of Australia's ban suggests children often learn to evade controls rather than comply.
When governments use 'protecting children' as the justification for sweeping digital control, the question is no longer whether they mean well. It’s whether they are building the infrastructure for something far more dangerous.
#ForTheKids 🤔
https://blossom.primal.net/e1af352d5903b4a40faf7fa0f27c0ca483e0210004d07ea8dd7a93026dec0df2.mov

2026-06-15 10:04:40 UTC

Gatekeepers beware because Honey Badger don’t give a f*ck!
Hosted a panel on how to fight back against CBDCs and surveillance.
Interviewed @nprofile…grxp in a Mercedes about his Assange documentary, the $6 billion price of truth and the fight against state power and censorship.
Had a great chat with @nprofile…dq0h from The Block about the UK and the risks around bitcoin treasury companies.
Serious work is happening across culture, infrastructure, resistance, payments, media and privacy. BTC Prague was hopeful, serious, fun and full of energy.
Huge thanks to @npub137x…z69c, @nprofile…y4ca and the @npub167n…zu3r team ... You smashed it!! ⚡️
https://blossom.primal.net/4bd2dfb16db89149c0b715b951363575a446d98d7ae8c29717015c11961f73a5.jpg
https://blossom.primal.net/e3fdabe248a3edf1ab9d79df3e2a60d7849d2f15e0636bfa7067f2e4e15cacb4.jpg
https://blossom.primal.net/b3c21a5853b58f473c5cc8432d849fa423d68e24d10880464e14fd8970744e83.jpg
https://blossom.primal.net/2bc908d4b496e9c453bbd8acaa47bec9ccad5b6783783e44babf8d7cace3c99f.jpg

2026-06-13 13:56:23 UTC

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It was super fun. I would love to do this with Sonic the Hedgehog too!!

2026-06-13 13:14:36 UTC

D++ is a genius.
She reverse engineered (hacked) Mario Kart, read the game’s memory in real time, and connected gameplay directly to Lightning payments.
As you race, sats stream to your wallet. The leaderboard updates live. Payments happen automatically. Every lap, overtake and position change can be reflected through Lightning in real time.
What makes this so clever is that it transforms Bitcoin from something people are told about into something they experience.
For many people, especially in places where scams have damaged trust, learning about Bitcoin through a game is far more powerful than listening to a presentation or reading a guide.
Projects like this also help stress test wallets, uncover bugs, improve UX and show developers what’s possible when money becomes native to the internet.
The most important thing… it’s fun… and fun is one of the most underrated drivers of adoption.
Automated micropayments plugged in live.
It’s designed to replace negative scam associations with nostalgia and fun.
Apply directly to your own games.⚡️
The building and innovation at @npub167n…zu3r is mind blowing!!
This will inspire a new generation of builders to create games, educational tools and entirely new experiences powered by Lightning. ⚡️⚡️⚡️
@npub1337…pkdt
https://blossom.primal.net/f3bff1d3f9607a4c2e46679665c96d72188229569ceab041a69e20d813599ea1.jpg
https://blossom.primal.net/3f0a0444e80c70fa085cc2818f6adeeb4477675cf08f39d6fdbf3101b65a5975.jpg
https://blossom.primal.net/69e3aa558e2c51d0cec6b46b3b66574027c04cfc4b282e793d6a19f8088a214f.jpg

2026-06-12 10:15:28 UTC

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In early 2023 on @GBNews I warned that central bank digital currencies could become programmable money.
Money that can be limited, directed, monitored or linked to policy goals.
At the time, many people thought this sounded extreme.
The Bank of England’s Digital Pound Lab is now trialling use cases involving programmable payments and smart contracts.
Across the EU, the Digital Euro is moving forward, while member states are required to provide EU Digital Identity Wallets by the end of 2026.
In the UK, digital ID, age verification and the Online Safety Act are all expanding the infrastructure for digital authoritarianism.
Financial freedom depends on preserving the ability to transact without permission.
Bitcoin is a peaceful way to opt out.
Speaking about this on stage at @BTCPrague. Details below.
https://blossom.primal.net/ebe1c9c6b16e3d7d610994ab8168cd6530079381ec38d8e09b8bd7d8f43733bc.mov
#nevent1q…n83h

2026-06-10 10:00:15 UTC

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The 1970s did more than change money, it changed our relationship with consciousness and connection too.
With Nixon’s Controlled Substances Act in 1970, psychedelics were pushed into Schedule I and research was driven underground.
A movement that questioned authority, perception and inner freedom was treated as a threat.
The following year, the dollar was taken off the gold standard. People were severed from intuition and money was severed from energy.
These actions explain so much about where we are now.
A society drowning in debt, mental distress, disconnection and permanent war, while still pretending these things are separate problems.
Hunter S. Thompson captured the comedown in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. The great wave of the 1960s had broken and rolled back, leaving behind the sense that something alive had been interrupted before it could fully reveal what it was reaching for.
The response to this rupture has taken two different forms. One asks us to look inward and untangle the unconscious patterns running our lives. The other asks us to look outward and question the monetary system governing the world.
This demands that we stop outsourcing reality. Illusion, awakening, fear, resistance and the difficulty of seeing clearly in a world built on managed perception.
Maybe the decline did not begin when money lost its anchor. Maybe it began when society declared war on the tools that help people see the cage.
I wrote this Forbes piece in 2024 and the connection between psychedelic therapy, bitcoin and sovereignty feels even more relevant now.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/digital-assets/2024/03/13/the-converging-interest-between-psychedelic-therapy-and-bitcoin/
@nprofile…78ut 💕
#nevent1q…agnu

2026-06-09 08:19:40 UTC

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Wicked!!

2026-06-09 08:11:09 UTC

CBDCs are financial surveillance with better branding. They are being be sold as innovation, convenient and inclusive.
Once money becomes programmable, freedom becomes conditional.
- Who decides what you can buy?
- Who decides where you can spend?
- Who decides when your access ends?
The Czech Republic knows what centralised power looks like and @npub167n…zu3r has always felt like the right place to talk about bitcoin, cypherpunks and financial freedom.
I’ll be moderating a panel on how to defend against CBDCs and surveillance with @nprofile…yd3x , Lea Thompson, Viliam Klamarčík and Tony Yazbeck.
Read the article here:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/digital-assets/2024/06/17/bitcoin-cypherpunks-and-financial-freedom-at-btc-prague/
See you in Prague.
https://blossom.primal.net/db8844565700dd89967ebaed66fd1f74a2f2680e8ee59be3b0a8a6d58f6adcf2.png
https://blossom.primal.net/94d9cfefd0c22ac55bab9d5ead12930cb14f0010c29a2c1eeb09eb94e22bb26d.jpg

2026-06-08 09:57:44 UTC

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I share those concerns. It was one of the issues I touched on in my Strategic Bitcoin Reserve article.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/digital-assets/2025/01/20/is-trumps-strategic-bitcoin-reserve-a-threat-to-freedom/

2026-06-08 09:15:34 UTC

Hal Finney understood early that Bitcoin could serve two worlds. It could become ‘a reserve currency for banks’ while still remaining permissionless money anyone can hold and use without intermediaries.
As Eric Balchunas said, Bitcoin has two major advantages. It is censorship resistant and a debasement hedge because of its scarcity.
The important thing is preserving access to both uses, so it can integrate without surrender and scale without ceasing to be freedom money.
This is the most elegant monetary achievement in history.
https://blossom.primal.net/575313f8400dbff595648bd18150f8a057bc8134a9dd6e7074a14b1133556e76.mov

2026-06-07 10:55:32 UTC

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That’s the risk….the UK is already seeing businesses, investors and entrepreneurs look elsewhere as taxes rise and the regulatory burden grows.
Wealth migration reports project a net loss of around 16,500 millionaires in 2025, the highest outflow globally. Whether the exact number proves accurate or not, the direction of travel should concern policymakers.
https://www.henleyglobal.com/publications/henley-private-wealth-migration-report-2025/what-driving-uks-millionaire-exodus

2026-06-07 08:13:03 UTC

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🧡

2026-06-07 08:12:05 UTC

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The IMF is disturbing, but at least we know what it is. The Tony Blair Institute is more unsettling because it operates in that grey zone between private influence, public policy and institutional capture.

2026-06-07 07:45:22 UTC

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Trust in centralised institutions is falling because they are failing to solve the very problems they were created to fix and often helped cause.
#nevent1q…0ktf

2026-06-05 12:33:57 UTC

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🤣🤣🤣🤣

2026-06-05 09:24:54 UTC

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Bitcoin is for everyone.
We are moving through the institutionalisation phase of Bitcoin’s journey, and that is part of its inevitable path. This phase will really test its antifragility.
I recently attended the Freedom Tech track at the Oslo Freedom Forum. It was intense and at times uncomfortable, but I left with a renewed feeling of hope. Dedicated builders and activists are now developing tools to push back against digital authoritarianism.
More than 6.2 billion people currently live under authoritarian rule, facing censorship, surveillance, bank freezes and restricted freedoms. For those people, freedom tech is about survival.
Bitcoin as freedom money gives us one of the strongest levers we have to separate money from the state, reduce dependence on permissioned systems and enable individuals to become sovereign.
It is easy to focus on the many problems we face and there are plenty, but there is also tremendous good being created by a growing force of builders and activists who have felt the pain and are determined to fight for freedom.
They are developing private payments, resilient communication networks, peer to peer funding, spyware research and education tools that governments may not like.
As @nprofile…xvfh said: “Acting in secret is not freedom, it’s not the goal. We should not have to contort ourselves to fit through the keyholes of tyranny.”
@nprofile…megy @npub1rxy…hnp8 @nprofile…mym5
https://blossom.primal.net/d0cfe49b9abae9afacf4196061f27bbccbf325346d131faca08a17590bd9f741.jpg
https://blossom.primal.net/1475749eedae9ab09f03893f022d1ad821578bcd7f1f85f833cd9b1310832096.jpg
https://blossom.primal.net/21ec46cadd4553b641257b59dc0811b2f6b8d8c98a15ea47e67d545fc1c1110a.jpg
https://blossom.primal.net/2f1f93fdd89447d6b81a23325ac768bfa4f49c1a4444654465e5a0654b58ad39.jpg
#nevent1q…8zcz

2026-06-04 11:25:12 UTC

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It is becoming harder, but there are incredible people working on incredible projects.
Thanks for the great feedback. 🧡

2026-06-04 08:15:01 UTC

Digital control is expanding through surveillance, debanking, KYC databases, internet shutdowns and financial repression.
Builders and activists are creating an emerging freedom tech stack of private payments, resilient communication, spyware research, peer to peer funding and practical education.
My latest article in Forbes featuring @nprofile…q6fg @nprofile…s0dv @nprofile…4xpt @nprofile…05cu Bitchat, Agora, Nostr and Bitcoin.
With insights from @nprofile…8tn9 @nprofile…vglz @nprofile…gpws and @nprofile…faxy.
Read the full article:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/digital-assets/2026/06/04/how-freedom-tech-is-pushing-back-against-digital-authoritarianism/

2026-06-03 17:08:48 UTC

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A good UX is important. The test is whether users still control their identity?

2026-05-29 09:15:02 UTC

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https://blossom.primal.net/83050ffb83dc90b6cff739454181a95687ae7fad7908c575129c83b55a8c587f.jpg

2026-05-28 12:03:21 UTC

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Yes… the difference would look even more ridiculous on a linear scale.

2026-05-28 09:42:12 UTC

Bitcoin is often called the best performing asset of the decade.
So I created this 10 year chart to show how big the gap really is.
Orange = Bitcoin
Purple = S&P 500
Yellow = Gold
https://blossom.primal.net/e6b1711400a854bf9eb6a673fe54c4fbd009591d78932c3d8b55961570fb8c6b.jpg

2026-05-27 10:33:13 UTC

The old centralised model has officially run out of road.
We are watching global institutions collapse under their own weight and the cracks are no longer possible to paper over. As the IMF said, "The 'muddling-through' approach ⁠that many countries have adopted so far is reaching its limits."
The IMF has sounded the alarm on the European Union. Europe is facing catastrophic, compounding bills for defence, energy and ageing demographics. Without radical, structural overhauls, average public debt is projected to skyrocket to 130% of GDP by 2040.
This is happening globally but playing out at different speeds.
Even Tony Blair, the ultimate architect of the modern centrist, globalist establishment, published a scathing assessment of where the UK government finds itself.
Blair is calling out Net Zero targets and the economic damage of restrictive employment and business regulations. He says tax receipts are drying up, welfare costs are exploding and governments are borrowing at a completely unsustainable rate.
When the elite who built the current political consensus admit the math doesn't work anymore, you know the illusion is shattered.
At this point, believing that more centralised intervention, more debt and more regulations will fix it is far more delusional than paying attention to cosmic cycles or historical turnings.
Politics is disintegrating because the foundational architecture is obsolete.
Politicians schooled in flawed economics, captured by corporate interests and trapped in ego still think the answer to every crisis is more statist control, more bureaucratic overreach and more debt. Somehow, the masses still look to these dying institutions for solutions.
This entire news cycle, the breakdown of the EU, the panic of the political elite, the economic redlining is perfectly coinciding with our transition into the 'Age of Aquarius'.
To the conditioned mind, explaining a sovereign debt crisis through this lens sounds insane... but right now a cosmic alignment of rebellion, decentralisation, community, technology, innovation and the unconventional makes a lot more sense than the mainstream narrative.
What we are witnessing is a massive shift in collective consciousness. The existing top down systems are fighting a losing battle against a global elevation of vibrational frequency.
When a collective vibration shifts, the old paradigm panics. It manifests as political turmoil, institutional breakdowns, the rise of authoritarianism, ideological extremism and polarisation.
It is the death rattle of a control matrix trying to fight back against a spiritual evolution it cannot contain.
So what is the answer? It’s not fixing a broken political party or voting in a new centralised 'saviour'.
Everything in this matrix is mathematical and built on code... and code responds to the user. There is no such thing as an objective experience; you cannot separate your reality from your own conditional bias. What you can do is change the frequency you operate on.
The ultimate rebellion against a collapsing, low vibrational system is to raise your own vibration. To see through the illusion of the chaos, recognise that it’s all a catalyst for awakening and anchor yourself back into the ultimate truth ... which is Love.
The old world is on borrowed time, we need to stop looking to out of touch politicians for answers.
Let's build decentralised systems and communities, step out of fear and raise the frequency.
Full Reuters article:
https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/eu-must-reform-consolidate-use-joint-debt-cope-with-spending-needs-imf-says-2026-05-23/
Full Independent article:
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/tony-blair-labour-leadership-starmer-brexit-b2983713.html#
https://blossom.primal.net/e6edb18c1eb4aa4a88188de32658f00b3f4daa6ed64a77265e213039fc525a37.jpg

2026-05-26 07:09:02 UTC

Bitcoin mining is going mainstream. ⚡️
The BitForge Nano Ghost Edition won Silver at the 2026 London Design Awards in both Product Design and Unexpected Design.
This is the coolest piece of nerd kit I’ve ever seen.
It’s a fantastic educational tool. A dedicated chip inside does trillions of cryptographic guesses every second to help secure the Bitcoin network through Proof of Work.
A real lesson in decentralization, connecting money to energy and the power of open source hardware.
It’s cool and educational. What’s not to love?
Thanks Duncan @nprofile…4uqm team! I’m solo mining, wish me luck!!
Who else is running a home miner?
https://blossom.primal.net/0f92ae54293bda54c6cf88422aefd57c3beee3447c55956d9ea4aa7a59610273.mov

2026-05-13 08:42:09 UTC

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🤣🤣🤣🤣

2026-05-13 06:24:42 UTC

“Bitcoin lacks privacy. Transactions can be monitored and potentially controlled, which is why central banks aren’t looking to hold it.” - Ray Dalio
Interesting comments, particularly around the idea that Bitcoin’s transparency and traceability could make it unattractive as a reserve asset.
Bitcoin’s transparency is both a strength and an unresolved tension.
An open and auditable monetary network stands in contrast to today’s opaque financial system, raising legitimate debates around privacy, surveillance and state adoption.
Bitcoin was designed as a neutral monetary network operating outside the existing system of monetary management, political discretion and institutional gatekeeping. This is very different from saying institutions will never use it over time.
Judging its value around whether central banks approve overlooks why it exists in the first place.
Bitcoin was not created to optimise for institutional comfort, but to introduce the possibility of a new monetary system.
It's either too transparent for central banks or not transparent enough for law enforcement...
Full @npub1x36…lsth article:
https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2026/05/12/bitcoin-transactions-can-be-monitored-ray-dalio-explains-why-central-banks-won-t-touch-btc

2026-05-11 17:13:23 UTC

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This connects to the heavy Tether investor influence on Reform UK policy that I covered last week.
A major Tether shareholder has been one of the biggest funders of Reform UK.
Bailey’s warning highlights the growing clash over stablecoin rules, with Britain pushing stricter redemption requirements that could turn the UK into a redemption magnet during a run on major US stablecoins.
https://primal.net/e/nevent1qqsrxs2pzzs04gu6hpmqhlk3swdw8ps89udeh4zvn3sjsdskvu2eccqwxud4d

2026-05-11 17:11:38 UTC

Interesting comments from Andrew Bailey on stablecoins, dollar dominance and the growing risk of regulatory fragmentation between the US and the rest of the world.
“We know what would happen if there was a run on a stablecoin - they'd all turn up here,” Bailey warned.
If privately issued dollar backed stablecoins become globally systemic payment rails, questions around sovereignty, convertibility, financial stability and political influence become impossible to ignore.
Article:
https://coincentral.com/bank-of-england-governor-warns-a-stablecoin-crisis-could-hit-the-uk-first/

2026-05-11 08:59:44 UTC

Faith from Kenya has accepted her first Bitcoin payment in her shop!
This Kenyan shopkeeper found a way to break through corrupt governments, unreliable banking systems and constant financial barriers that continue to hold back businesses across the Global South.
She went from a beginner to accepting 150 KSh (~$1.15) in Bitcoin after a customer scanned her QR code, with the payment settling instantly and almost zero fees.
This is Bitcoin powering circular economies in the Global South.
Faith is leading the way with educational support from Linda Kariuki and Trezor Academy. Kenyans are now bypassing expensive middlemen, avoiding inefficient traditional systems and receiving funds immediately.
Real Bitcoin impact happening right now.
https://blossom.primal.net/214cc5056dd99b5707aa24b584e5a22e906535055a88e89a8c2d115b8f25c971.mov

2026-05-08 06:21:15 UTC

This is one of the best and simplest explanations of why Bitcoin mining is increasingly being looked at as energy infrastructure rather than just 'data centres'.
Battery farms get paid to turn off.
Bitcoin miners get paid to turn off AND get paid when they are on.
That economic model is incredibly powerful for grids with growing renewable overbuild and curtailment.
Once Europe wakes up to these opportunities, the floorgates will open.
@nprofile…xzud @npub1rwh…7avv
https://blossom.primal.net/6bac52c1fbab87ec4e0bf814661a0d5a70397523d5034c5194034a155a386fa7.mov

2026-05-07 09:04:53 UTC

GOV.UK One Login is now the standard route for every new HMRC user.
“HMRC services are among the largest and most-used digital services in government.” - Lucy Leonard, HMRC onboarding lead at GDS.
This is creeping full centralisation of your taxes, wealth, assets and address into one single login. One profile and one MASSIVE honeypot.
This will create a single point of failure for huge data breaches (which happen regularly), enables total tracking across government services, and paves the way for biometric requirements next.
On top of that, centralised data like this creates real physical danger, turning people into targets for wrench attacks and coercion (see article below).
All of this for 'easier login'?
It’s pointless and dangergerious. Centralisation doesn’t make us safer, it makes us easier targets.
Full article:
https://www.ukauthority.com/articles/govuk-one-login-rolls-out-to-new-hmrc-users
Official GDS announcement:
https://gds.blog.gov.uk/2026/04/28/gov-uk-one-login-for-hmrc-how-we-made-it-happen-and-what-comes-next/

2026-05-07 07:19:25 UTC

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Larry Fink has gone one step further with his Bitcoin endorsement.
At the Milken Conference this week he said:
“A new asset class will be buying futures of compute.”
AI is driving extreme shortages in power, chips, and compute capacity.
BlackRock is announcing a major new hyperscaler data centre partnership in the coming days, with $13.9 trillion positioned to fund the full AI infrastructure buildout.
This power and compute crunch makes Bitcoin’s role in long term financial and energy infrastructure even more important.
Bitcoin is going mainstream.
Full article:
https://beincrypto.com/blackrock-ceo-larry-fink-discusses-a-new-asset-class/
#nevent1q…sv7x

2026-05-06 10:08:03 UTC

Bitcoin has come a long way in 17 years. It’s now a distinct asset class and institutions are figuring out exactly where it fits in portfolios.
With the classic 60/40 portfolio struggling and the S&P 500 propped up by a handful of tech stocks, Bitcoin is becoming the go to diversifier.
BlackRock now frames Bitcoin as long term financial infrastructure rather than speculation. Their Aladdin system, the risk engine managing ~$25 trillion, acts as the gatekeeper for global capital.
Adding 3% Bitcoin has historically boosted 60/40 returns from 9.4% to 14.6% (Fidelity data). In addition, ~35% of the S&P 500 sits in a few names.
Bitcoin offers diversification tied to geopolitics and currency debasement, not corporate earnings.
This is a game changer for long term planning and for Bitcoin.
Discussing the BlackRock shift and Bitcoin as a long term asset with Hank Hudsen on @nprofile…p7p7.
https://blossom.primal.net/f1eb92284594359736aba377f31c2b6b5ad06c78926a6a5a23c53dcb886cab87.mov

2026-05-05 09:01:16 UTC

The UK has proved something we have been pointing out for a long time.
- You cannot regulate the internet into safety.
- Centralisation does not equal protection.
Kids are already bypassing facial age checks by drawing moustaches with eyebrow pencils… and it works.
However the governments solution is mandatory biometrics and government ID.
If you want a snapshot of how quickly this is being gamed, this post lays it out beautifully.
Full report below:
https://www.internetmatters.org/hub/research/online-safety-act-report-2026/
https://blossom.primal.net/1199fa1df9e142028b5b64cc87a15d8dbfe03b85c1794d666c229fdf4911d9c3.jpg

2026-05-04 13:09:27 UTC

The Telegraph has published a series of articles over recent months that together paint a concerning picture of Reform UK's relationship with 'crypto'.
From coverage of how Tether’s empire has generated billions for Reform UK’s largest backer, Christopher Harborne, to the latest column raising serious questions about the party’s embrace of crypto policy.
I want to give the Telegraph credit where it is due. On the core connection they have got it right and it is dodgy. Christopher Harborne, a major Tether shareholder with ties to the iFinex and Bitfinex, has funnelled record sums including a £9m donation into Nigel Farage and Reform UK.
That money flows while the party pushes pro-crypto and stablecoin policies that could shape Bank of England regulation and the UK's role in the global stablecoin market.
This combination of one large Tether investor, massive personal gifts, and direct policy influence deserves real scrutiny. I want to give the Telegraph credit again. They are right to highlight this connection.
However, they are slightly barking up the wrong tree by framing it as a general problem with Reform’s 'love of crypto'. Reform’s crypto policy is actually good. With just a few tweaks it would be exactly what the UK needs.
The real issue is the specific stablecoin connection and heavy reliance on one powerful Tether investor. In fairness, Farage is not the only politician Harborne has bankrolled. He also donated £1 million to a company set up by Boris Johnson in 2022 and is the largest single shareholder in the defence firm QinetiQ.
Also, worth noting he sometimes goes by his Thai name Chakrit Sakunkrit after taking Thai citizenship.
The Telegraph’s reporting is strongest when it focuses on the specific Harborne > Tether > Reform connections. That said, their stories sometimes gets diluted by mixing Bitcoin with the crypto sector when the real issues here are much more targeted.
It also blends traceable on-chain crypto donations which are often far more transparent than traditional finance with the quite different issue of concentrated influence from a major Tether investor operating in a separate regulatory environment.
Reform's actual policy positions on crypto and stablecoins remain among the most sensible and forward looking of any major UK party. They prioritise innovation and London as a global hub over heavy handed regulation.
The real problem is the heavy reliance on and potential capture by powerful investors tied to a dominant stablecoin player and not the policy direction.
But I guess, that's not news ... it's our political system.
Full article:
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2026/05/02/serious-questions-reform-uk-love-of-crypto/
https://blossom.primal.net/4dd2c8aa8b640fbdbdac25129dad8996d7b6d21866253a6c05a73967c7c965b7.jpg

2026-05-03 16:36:43 UTC

Holy Buckazoids Batman!
I met Guy Malone at @npub1rwh…7avv .
He told me about this piece he wrote for the Roswell Daily Record back on June 22 2025.
It's a fun column asking whether Satoshi Nakamoto’s origins could connect back to the 1991 video game Space Quest IV.
In the game players collect Buckazoids. The in game coin looks surprisingly similar to Bitcoin’s ₿ logo today.
The story even includes names like Satoshi Uesaka and Rod Nakamoto.
Coincidence or something more?
It’s a great mix of Bitcoin history, retro gaming and that classic Roswell energy!
Worth checking out if you enjoy these kinds of mysteries.
https://blossom.primal.net/8beb53d7387f7a5115685d13684bf0d2b8d9c9688648a67dec6a6b14d92d5176.jpg
https://blossom.primal.net/1ff94b9bed75c379f5e851210bc051a03954e5a92cad43a77521231e09bb2de3.jpg
https://blossom.primal.net/97faff35dc8d3a1afb1a7b69420f0273978bbc3eea1baef29f5b7bfe5ca44b94.jpg

2026-04-30 12:09:20 UTC

Vegas 2026 had it all from Saylor’s insane financial engineering to powerful reminders of why Bitcoin is important and a way to opt out of this corrosive system.
The message from the Freedom Go Up stage was ‘The system is not broken, its working as designed’
Thank you to @npub1rwh…7avv team for putting on an outstanding variety of panels and topics. There was something for everyone and it displayed the vast array of things Bitcoin touches from politics and tradfi thought to decentralized systems and human rights.
I spoke on two panels on the Energy Stage covering emerging markets and the local impact of bitcoin mining.
The message was consistent across discussions. Mining has to deliver real value on the ground through jobs, infrastructure and long term alignment with communities.
In emerging markets that is already happening. Stranded and underused energy is being turned into genuine economic growth.
Running underneath it all was an unease around the expansion of permissioned systems the normalisation of KYC and an internet that has made the individual the product instead of the owner.
Also, loved bumping into Kent from Sazmining and my favourite Conjoin Chris.
Bitcoin doesnt fix everything but it does reveals the system for what it is and offers an alternative.
Whether that becomes real freedom or another layer depends entirely on what we choose to build next.
https://blossom.primal.net/d634b90cc9404df9ad522d072186fcc575a28f5252fef28a14fa0317132cfdc5.jpg
https://blossom.primal.net/4f20f2d4210da5f355040c1a8e915a784ab973f476df88cb37aa449ac49a7767.jpg
https://blossom.primal.net/86bc0f4a89dfcc30b07e5533cb7bd371e7ae1f6b8932f326ea585cce9ab6af34.jpg
https://blossom.primal.net/743e0163a8030805a303e2ca1ce9b8edfbb613f22d5e295f5067996c8ce9bf00.jpg

2026-04-28 15:16:16 UTC

The UK government has successfully weaponised the
'child safety' narrative to execute one of the most significant power grabs in the history of the British internet.
By stripping away a massive slice of online privacy for every adult, politicians are laying the final bricks of a Digital Panopticon that few are willing to acknowledge.
Back in my August 2023 CityAM article, I warned that the Online Safety Bill was a digital double edged sword. Sold as a shield for the vulnerable, but destined to cut through encryption and open innovation.
Today, that prediction is playing out exactly as foreseen. Lawmakers are pushing social media restrictions for under 16s as the ultimate 'Trojan Horse' for mandatory Digital ID and state surveillance.
The fundamental flaw is that Whitehall believes it can dictate the shape of the internet at a glacial pace through endless committees. At the same time, the cutting edge of technology is racing at lightspeed toward decentralised networks like Nostr and federated platforms which are immune to these government mandates.
Centralised platforms will eventually buckle. The open, user controlled web will route around these rules, as it always has.
Our digital freedoms are being eroded in the shadows of safety rhetoric. The only viable answer is to build decentralised alternatives faster than they can regulate the old ones.
Britain is on the verge of losing its digital sovereignty forever unless we wake up to the trap.
And yes ... this is another Bitcoin advert.
It's time to separate money from the state and make government smaller.
https://x.com/bigbrotherwatch/status/2049083992058519872

2026-04-24 09:26:39 UTC

Sam Altman just explained the entire World ID agenda.
Years ago they started working on how to prove someone is human, because they were building a world where AI would generate more content than people.
The solution they built is World ID. Biometric iris scanning for the internet, framed as privacy preserving.
The same people who are driving the coming wave of synthetic content are now selling the solution.
A system that verifies you are human using your biometric data.
One global system that registers every humans biometric ID forever ... and you will have to comply if you want access to the internet.
This is another red flag for anyone who cares about privacy and sovereignty.
https://x.com/decentrasuze/status/1689268974310014976
https://blossom.primal.net/53374662829aefc42e9a2710dec7ce6144679358e39afcb475582911498f2d3f.mov

2026-04-22 17:04:57 UTC

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Article on regulation and data collection creating physical security risks:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/digital-assets/2026/02/20/how-regulation-and-data-collection-are-creating-physical-security-risk/

2026-04-22 17:04:11 UTC

Today the FCA raided eight London sites in its first ever coordinated crackdown on peer to peer crypto trading. Enforcement has now moved onto ordinary individuals operating outside the regulated system.
The UK is trying to position itself as a global centre for digital assets centred around stablecoins, tokenisation and institutional adoption.
At the same time, the most direct form of decentralised exchange is being pushed into a legal grey area. Individuals trading with one another can find everyday activity interpreted as unlawful once it reaches meaningful scale.
There are effectively no P2P traders registered under current AML rules. This creates a tension in UK policy where:
- privacy is treated as opacity
- self custody is viewed as risk
- decentralised systems are judged against rules designed for intermediaries.
When there is no realistic route to compliance, enforcement dictates behaviour by default, not by design.
These same regulatory and data collection approaches are creating real physical security risks by linking identities to holdings and turning oversight into surveillance.
The implications for safety, privacy and surveillance are unprecedented. These regulators will also have to live in the world they create...
https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/crypto/articles/uk-targets-illegal-crypto-trading-120738842.html
https://blossom.primal.net/96e90448326ac70f2e58d8f48201bdd8c9e327d0eaae903f823e39739057976c.jpg

2026-04-19 15:22:05 UTC

Ed Miliband’s red tape and grid bureaucracy has actually done something right. He has made it easier, faster and make more business sense to mine Bitcoin rather than connect to the grid.
A Yorkshire gas field that could supply over 10% of Britain’s annual demand is being positioned for early Bitcoin mining rather than immediate supply to the national grid.
Reabold Resources plans a small on site gas fired power station using private gas to mine Bitcoin, generate early revenue and help fund further development of the field.
Connecting to the grid is slow, costly and tied up in years of approvals, infrastructure build out and negotiations. Using the gas on site allows immediate monetisation from existing wells and creates early cash flow without waiting for the wider system to catch up.
When the fastest and most viable route for a domestic energy resource is private on site use rather than supplying the grid, it becomes clear that Bitcoin isn’t the problem.
This neatly exposes how misaligned UK energy policy, infrastructure and incentives have become.
It’s amazing what businesses can do to stay profitable, even when the government tries to make it almost impossible.
Full article: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/gift/f18a6bf325db078e

2026-04-17 08:13:18 UTC

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Centralising justice is bad enough, now Labour is pushing plans to take greater control over private pension pots and dictate where that capital flows.
We need to separate money and state and seriously rethink the size and reach of government.
History keeps showing what happens when politicians steer financial decisions for everyone else.
- They incentivised diesel cars then pivoted and left owners exposed.
- They launched Help to Buy and distorted the housing market.
- They pushed green home insulation schemes then scrapped them after botched installations left homeowners with poor quality work and extra costs.
- They also hike interest rates to control inflation which crushes demand and leaves families facing higher borrowing costs and real financial misery.
Policy is made, policy reverses and individuals absorb the losses. More rules get layered on to fix the damage they caused.
This latest move on pensions is not new, governments have been trying to direct capital for years. Now it is about funnelling pension money into UK infrastructure, private companies and growth projects. All framed as being in the national interest.
The idea of pushing people into investments the government deems suitable is concerning, especially while UK retail remains restricted from easy access to a Bitcoin spot ETF.
Every day brings another example of overreach or poor judgment.
Moments like this make the case for Bitcoin even stronger.
Full article:
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/pensions/news/labour-force-through-plan-dictate-pension-investments/
#nevent1q…l0sq

2026-04-16 07:35:01 UTC

Great chat on @npub15h5…tl4k with Archie. Always love hanging out.
A good friend of mine once said to me, “how do you operate in an adult world, you are so small?”
…well, here’s the answer.
Thanks to Charlie for finding me a footstool, aka a box.
https://blossom.primal.net/1d697d14ce9e61898003dca5ce92f3a67d2b041eab3a51e9dde15c53d286747c.jpg

2026-04-16 06:45:14 UTC

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FFS

2026-04-14 09:41:47 UTC

Labour’s plan to axe jury trials for half of all cases (up to 3 years prison and for 'complex' fraud etc) is a direct attack on Britain’s freedoms.
They are dismantling the last decentralised check on state power, while pushing surveillance, digital IDs & programmable payments via regulated stablecoins.
Centralise justice and you centralise control over everything!
Full Telegraph article:
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/04/13/labour-plan-scrap-jury-trials-threat-britain-freedoms/

2026-04-11 08:20:44 UTC

Saturday Night Movie Recommendation: ‘Biggest Heist Ever’ on Netflix.
Meet Heather Morgan aka Razzlekhan and her husband Ilya Lichtenstein, better known as Bitcoin Bonnie and Crypto Clyde.
They were involved in one of the largest Bitcoin heists in history. He carried out the hack, she helped launder the funds. What followed was years spent trying to wash billions through thousands of transactions, convinced they were genius criminals staying one step ahead, while leaving a perfectly traceable trail.
Some say they were masterminds, others say a lot did not quite stack up.
After their New York apartment was raided, investigators seized their electronic equipment along with a bag of burner phones helpfully labelled “burner phones”, plus stacks of cash and foreign currency. Despite having access to other passports, they stayed in New York and kept posting increasingly bizarre videos online until their arrest a month later.
One investigator said he couldn’t tell if watching those videos was the best or worst part of his day.
Coffeezilla pretty much nailed it:
“Heather Morgan should be incarcerated for at least 25 years, purely on the basis of being unbearably cringe.”
They tried to outsmart an immutable public ledger, and this story makes clear why Bitcoin is not good for criminals.
If you watch one documentary this year, make it this one. It’s equally informative, hilarious, jaw dropping and the videos are so bad they’re good....
Watch it here: https://www.netflix.com/gb/title/81600031
https://blossom.primal.net/df09dcb8339a440d88e4a003ad12b0359357adce7264cee92fe11b331e6576bb.mov

2026-04-09 06:16:41 UTC

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Iran said f*ck SWIFT by taking Bitcoin payments for oil ships or no Hormuz passage.
Russia is pushing ruble stablecoins into Africa while BRICS builds alternative rails.
Sanctions weaponised money ... this is exactly why Bitcoin wins!
Discussed this with Hank on @nprofile…rrx8.
https://blossom.primal.net/4f70ca7ab084c0e714c61fa9c85a0dc5d89be2cb9e0103596cbd5c8abdbf667f.mov
#nevent1q…rntt

2026-04-08 15:05:55 UTC

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BRICS is trying to design a new system to bypass SWIFT and Western rails.
Iran is showing what happens when you’re locked out of the system… you don’t wait for frameworks, you use what works.
In this case, that’s bitcoin.
Full article:
https://decrypt.co/363641/iran-bitcoin-payments-oil-ships-seeking-hormuz-passage
#nevent1q…72f7

2026-04-08 08:43:03 UTC

Three years ago, in May 2023, I wrote for CityAM asking: Can BRICS build something with Bitcoin?
At the time, BRICS nations were openly discussing alternatives to the dollar, including commodity backed currencies using gold, oil or other resources.
The core problem was always trust. How do you audit reserves across countries with very different levels of transparency, and how do you handle the logistics of physical commodities in a digital world?
I argued there was a cleaner path. Bitcoin offers transparent on chain verification, no single issuer to trust or distrust, and a neutral, global, borderless system.
Fast forward to April 2026, and that shift away from dollar dependence is starting to take shape, but not quite in the way I described (not yet at least).
Russia is now expanding its A7 crypto payments network into Africa, built around a ruble backed stablecoin and partly controlled by a sanctioned defence linked bank, Promsvyazbank, together with fugitive Moldovan banker Ilan Șor. The aim is to bypass Western sanctions and SWIFT style systems for cross border trade.
This sits alongside the BRICS efforts around CBDC bridges, local currency settlement, and alternative payment rails. Foreign Minister Lavrov has described A7 as Russia’s “first international financial platform” and is inviting more African countries to join.
The infrastructure is being built, but it is controlled, permissioned and state influenced rather than open and trustless.
Africa has already demonstrated what real bottom up Bitcoin adoption looks like, mobile first, driven by remittances, Lightning payments and everyday use.
The question is whether these state led systems can deliver the neutrality and resilience BRICS claims to seek, or whether Bitcoin’s decentralised properties ultimately prove more durable.
Recent Moscow Times report on A7's Africa push (6 April 2026):
https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2026/04/06/russian-crypto-payments-network-seeks-africa-expansion-ft-a92435
https://blossom.primal.net/de6f06572d4cdfb1a39b7d8af734a44909240a1408f90540e187cc619f26d95e.jpg

2026-04-03 07:43:35 UTC

The UK spends billions not producing energy, then allows people to freeze.
The conversation is about cutting energy use. Almost no one is talking about creating energy abundance.
That's the difference between decline and prosperity. The U.K. government are solving the wrong problem.
Great conversation with @nprofile…48ep on @nprofile…9m7x about this.
https://blossom.primal.net/ff5fa70b19b0184085163bfe54594e6d95fbf7ed7b860dc7a6a4f1a68fa0f52f.mov

2026-04-01 07:04:37 UTC

Officers would ‘no longer be policing perfectly legal tweets,’ the UK Home Secretary said.
If you needed one sentence to sum up the madness of UK politics and policing, this is it.
In 2023 alone they made 12,183 arrests for online 'communications offences'. Around 33 a day with fewer than 10% resulting in a sentence.
Meanwhile detection rates for real crime collapsed. Police made over 65,000 arrests since 2017 for 'offensive or menacing' messages sent via phone, email and social media, while real crime went unsolved.
It's a relief they're finally admitting it was a waste but why was this allowed to continue for so long?
The irony is that it’s this that feels criminal.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c80m7xyl0xgo
https://blossom.primal.net/6e2d3a85cf1f3fbb97ea280b43fa1d54f542ce182e59b6d5659473445fb92a67.jpg

2026-03-31 10:41:11 UTC

CBDCs, surveillance and overreaching regulation are coming for your freedom.
I’m speaking at @npub167n…zu3r 2026 with three important panels on how to protect it:
- The Regulatory Shield: Navigating MiCA and Staying Legally Untouchable
- Regulation vs. Rights in the Age of Bitcoin Code, Cash, and Crime: Who Controls Your Freedom?
- How To Defend Against CBDCs and Surveillance
See you in the Bitcoin capital of Europe. 🧡
https://btcprague.com/
@npub1z74…d4yx
https://blossom.primal.net/4a277ebd9874d5ab8de28d936e6914905ce710d6fd302bc6099922db2f0cca51.jpg
https://blossom.primal.net/10268d335db4a57e4c96e4dce46d296c0ab7471b64b5b33839c82e212ae534c6.jpg

2026-03-31 07:02:16 UTC

How much of what you earn actually belongs to you?
If you add up income tax, national insurance, VAT, stamp duty, inheritance tax and capital gains, estimates suggest you are working until around October before your money is your own.
So how much does the state take and what does it provide?
I discussed this with Alex Recouso from CitizenX on @nprofile…p7p7 as we tried to work out how to define that threshold.
At what point do we start to define a system differently?
https://blossom.primal.net/5320f237b62809d3c9f3a2ef174d301192223d4b6ef91d057ba2385595d01bba.mov

2026-03-30 08:51:26 UTC

Just got back from CheatCode where I was on a panel called “The Fiat Panopticon: Defending Bitcoin in the UK”.
A couple of days later, The Telegraph publishes this:
Labour draws up equality law revamp that “will impose socialism” on Britain.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/gift/e3f0663a67ee0fb4
The article outlines plans for a new “socio-economic duty” requiring government departments to factor inequality into decision making across schools, hospitals, policing and wider public services.
It ties into the wider point we were discussing on stage, how systems evolve over time, gradually embedding more influence and control into how decisions are made. It does start to raise the question of how far that kind of model goes.
As one critic quoted in the article:
“This is unabashed class warfare targeting the middle class… embedded across the entire machinery of the state.”
Once decisions are filtered through central criteria, it starts to shape outcomes in a very different way.
This is why bitcoin is so important. It gives us a way to separate money from the state.
https://blossom.primal.net/c248955936836164041f7b918a12a40ed01fcd2c8f1945b0a0dd0bfdb52a1051.jpg

2026-03-26 11:17:19 UTC

The FCA lifted the ban on bitcoin ETNs for retail investors...
...but access remains constrained, fragmented and often out of reach.
Banking barriers, restricted mass market classifications, tax disadvantages and limited investor protections continue to push users toward less regulated environments and risky proxies.
Exactly the outcome policy is meant to prevent.
Bitcoin is the best performing asset of the decade. When does protection become restriction?
My latest Forbes article featuring Bitwise & Myra L2.
Full article here:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/digital-assets/2026/03/26/uk-regulator-eases-bitcoin-accessbut-is-it-really-open/
https://blossom.primal.net/d7dabee0de2eef6ce7ccdad9762ff978045454b9aaf4f957f566dc35bf26be2c.jpg

2026-03-24 11:15:44 UTC

Governments around the world are turning access to your own money into a monitored and conditional system.
At the same time, they are building vast centralised databases of your personal data and wealth under the banner of tackling illicit activity and 'consumer protection'.
In the US, banks still have to file a full report including Social Security Numbers for any cash transaction over $10,000*, a threshold set in 1970 that makes little sense in 2026.
None of this meaningfully targets crime, it creates new vulnerabilities by linking identity, wealth and address. This increases the risk that ordinary people are exposed when breaches and leaks happen all the time.
Framed as consumer protection, it is in reality global financial surveillance.
The system is broken as @nprofile…aukv from The Digital Chamber lays out on @nprofile…xplv.
*For reference: Canada C$10,000, Australia A$10,000, many European countries have cash payment caps and heavy reporting as low as €3,000 (with an EU wide €10,000 limit coming in 2027).
https://blossom.primal.net/e9895c040bff5a2ce736f2a09b4aee8901fe45ddeaf5d4d17ef4d0077e56fe1e.mov

2026-03-23 08:14:37 UTC

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Bitcoin Privacy At Risk? CARF And Government Oversight
Explains the Cryptoasset Reporting Framework and its implications for privacy and physical security.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/digital-assets/2024/11/24/bitcoin-privacy-carf-and-government-oversight/

2026-03-23 08:14:09 UTC

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New EU Rules Could Threaten Your Security
FATF Travel Rule/MiCA data demands erode privacy, add friction and increase costs.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/digital-assets/2025/01/07/new-eu-rules-threaten-your-security--what-you-need-to-know/

2026-03-23 08:13:40 UTC

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Why Bitcoin Shouldn't Be Regulated Like Crypto
Discusses mismatched rules, ignoring Bitcoin's unique properties.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/digital-assets/2026/01/19/why-bitcoin-shouldnt-be-regulated-like-crypto/

2026-03-23 08:13:02 UTC

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How Regulation And Data Collection Are Creating Physical Security Risks
Ties KYC data mandates to attacks, privacy breaches, and real physical dangers.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/digital-assets/2026/02/20/how-regulation-and-data-collection-are-creating-physical-security-risk/

2026-03-23 08:12:18 UTC

We are sold KYC, AML and surveillance as protection, while the Bank of England moves to restrict 'unhosted wallets' to keep activity within intermediated systems in the name of stability and control.
These rules do little to curb illicit flows but expand data collection, erode privacy, impose costs, and add friction and limit access through banks and intermediaries.
Self custody removes that layer entirely, exposing the limits of that approach.
When policymakers shaping these rules have never used a wallet or sent a transaction, that gap in understanding gets written into policy.
What’s being sold as protection is harm.
Further context in the articles below.
@nprofile…8cwv @nprofile…9m7x
https://blossom.primal.net/f3ae6445e136d40ec86c41efe917f667e5be3eedbcf35ac4771aebb390d67ea2.mov

2026-03-19 08:13:46 UTC

As geopolitical tensions rise, capital rotates through dollars and gold and increasingly into Bitcoin as confidence in fiat weakens and demand for non-sovereign stores of value grows.
That’s when you realise you need assets that sit outside direct government control.
As Jasmine Birtles from Money Magpie told me on @nprofile…9m7x:
“People aren’t so sure about dollars, but gold and Bitcoin, yes definitely… people are flying to it for safety.”
Short term price action comes and goes, but the underlying demand for hard assets persists and the fundamentals remain intact.
https://blossom.primal.net/0a9acd703b2f4eb1d679dcc11f2a26046ab73fb27d94d187b4579ae2d8d5217e.mov

2026-03-18 12:10:21 UTC

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Thank you. 🫡