Privacy, and our basic freedoms, are under attack from all sides. Incredibly, the so-called 'liberal democracies' are now leading these attacks; arresting their own citizens for posting online, rolling out facial recognition cameras, and moving to ban VPNs. "What can men do against such reckless hate?" And are we losing this battle? Absolutely not. There's still time to fight back, and we have much in our arsenal. We at @bitcoinpolicyuk have put together a 'Privacy Toolkit', that should let anyone, whatever their skill level, take a few small steps towards improving their privacy and their freedom, and making themselves just a little bit harder for governments to track and to oppress. This isn't comprehensive, and we'll continue to update it as time goes by. We hope it's useful to everyone and serves as a handy guide to help us all push back against government overreach, wherever we find it. Link in the thread and comments welcome! 👇

This is what happens when people stop drinking. Wouldn't have happened in Don Draper's day.

If, like many of us, you feel a bit taken aback by events of the past week in #Bitcoin , you may be wondering about what you can do, practically, to maintain your ability to transact freely and to preserve your privacy. Whatever the enemies of freedom may tell you, in free and democratic countries it remains lawful to possess your own property, and to continue to hold and use that property without fear of unlawful search and seizure. You should confidently continue to pursue self custody of your bitcoin with the knowledge that the law is on your side, even if certain people in positions of power are not. However, it is important to remember that Bitcoin was intended to be a peer to peer system, and that delegating our personal responsibility to third party custodians has meant that the robustness of the system to resisting attacks has diminished. If you want to be able to continue transacting freely with your bitcoin, or holding it peacefully and lawfully, then you may want to take some steps to ensure that the system is as robust and as widely distributed as possible. As we know from the Cypherpunk's Manifesto, a 'widely dispersed system can't be shut down.' Here are some concrete suggestions of things that we can all do, right now, to ensure that the Bitcoin system is as widely dispersed as possible, and that each of us can continue interacting with it freely, no matter what. I'll give further details on each of these, and will put links in the thread, but as a start: 1. If you don't already, learn how to run a node, and start running one. 2. Learn how to open your own Lightning channels on your node. 3. Use open source, non-custodial wallets 4. Learn how to connect these wallets to your nodes 5. Really focus on understanding self custody. 1. Run a node Why is this important? It keeps the Bitcoin network of transaction validators as widely-dispersed as possible and helps to maintain the censorship-resistance of the network. If you run your own node, you will at the same time have access to a wallet that can't be removed from an app store and cannot be shut down.  I run two - one on a little @umbrel on a Raspberry Pi 4 (photo below) and the other on an old pc.  If you've never done this before, then Umbrel is a fun place to begin. You may also want to look into @start9labs - each provide a good basis to learn how to do this and become part of the network. 2. Learn how to use lightning in a self custodial way Opening and closing channels costs sats; but your own channels mean that you are much more likely to maintain access to them. See the great tutorial from @BTCsessions in the thread. A second tutorial on Fedi is also linked. 3. Use open source, non custodial wallets Especially if, like Mutiny, they can be installed as a progressive web app and don't need to be listed in one of the app stores. Either @MutinyWallet or @ZeusLN are great options.  4. Connect your wallet to your node Zeus especially will enable you to be fully self-sovereign in this context. 5. Focus on self-custody I cannot recommend the guide from @parman_the enough (link in thread). If you are starting from a position where your coins are still in a custodial wallet on an exchange, read the article in the thread below as a starting point, and begin working your way up the levels of self custody. Bitcoin may be under attack; but this is what it was designed for. If it were not continually attacked, there would be no incentive for Bitcoin to improve, or for us, its users, to improve our own practices. You are not alone, and you are not helpless. I hope the suggestions in this post will give anyone new to self custody, or exploring it for the first time, some pointers as to further reading - and encouragement that while we are in a fight, we are absolutely and unequivocally going to win it.

@SenWarren these are my daughters, flipping a coin to generate a 256 digit binary number. We converted this to hexadecimals, generated a bitcoin private key, and created a wallet. No KYC was, or will ever be, required.

Why the UK is financially broken, in a few simple numbers👇 We now pay £212 billion per year on on 'illness-related inactivity'. This is about 70 % of the ENTIRE INCOME TAX TAKE of the government. So 70p of every pound you pay in tax goes not to nurses, teachers, doctors, schools, or to fixing potholes… but towards paying this bill. Towards paying people not to work. It gets worse. On top of this, the government will spend £111.2 billion this year just on servicing our national debt. On interest payments, not reducing the principal owed. What does this mean? That every single penny you have to pay in income tax is spent either on enabling people not to work, or on paying interest. Not one single penny you pay goes on the things you might expect to pay tax for – on the police, on schooling, on healthcare, education, or defence. And remember, this is with the highest tax burden since the Second World War. The system is running on fumes. Something has to give.

Dear @SenWarren, Many in the #Bitcoin community will have read your letters, sent to @BlockchainAssn, to @coincenter, and to @coinbase. We include an example in the thread below. However, not many of us realised at first that you had cunningly hidden a #Bitcoin address in the very first paragraph, until @CosmoCrixter spotted this! Using the method we describe below, we were able to create a wallet using only the words from the beginning of your letter – demonstrating yet again that code is speech, that speech is protected by the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, and that information wants to be free. We are sharing the address of the wallet created from the text of your letter below. The public address is 3MpmSJWhYLhs3HdurHUfcWxd6eweVmWPk3. We promise that any and all contributions made to this wallet will be donated to @blockchainAssn, to @coincenter, and to @coinbase in their fight against authoritarianism. Thank you for so thoughtfully demonstrating the enormous power of this technology! @PerianneDC , @kristinsmith , @brian_armstrong, @nic_carter, @LynAldenContact - if you have not yet found the #WarrenWallet, we thought this might amuse.

This

I am not mentally prepared to deal with videos from the World Economic Forum that promote the positive social and sustainability benefits of #Bitcoin mining. The cognitive dissonance is too much. Is this the turn of the tide?

It's as negligent for a nation not to have a #Bitcoin strategy today as it would have been to ignore the internet in 1994. The UK is the third largest nation state holder of Bitcoin, with over 61,000 coins. Nearly five million UK citizens are thought to hold Bitcoin. And the government holds its Bitcoin on behalf of the nation – you might have thought we'd use this head start to our advantage, to protect and preserve the value of this important reserve (which has increased in value by more than a billion pounds just in the past year). But the policies of the previous government, and @TheFCA – far from making this country a ‘crypto hub’ - have instead placed constraints on UK citizens looking to buy #Bitcoin, and have driven jobs, businesses and tax revenue offshore. We give examples in the thread. Today, we have written open letters to the Chancellor, @RachelReevesMP , and to the City Minister, @TulipSiddiq , recommending three simple policy changes, to help HMG change course, and really capitalise on the country’s first mover advantage: 1. Ensure that Bitcoin businesses and holders can freely operate in the UK, with access to exchanges and to banking, and to adapt our tax policies to encourage spending and saving of Bitcoin in the economy. 2. Conduct feasibility studies relating to the opportunities Bitcoin mining offers in achieving the UK’s net zero goals. 3. Capitalise on the UK’s current position as the third largest nation state holder of Bitcoin and consider an allocation of our existing Bitcoin as a Treasury reserve asset, alongside our gold. Gordon Brown famously sold a significant portion of the nation’s gold at a generational low in the market; at what is now a loss exceeding 20 billion pounds. We should not make such a mistake again. We encourage you to read our open letters, to download the policy manifesto in the thread, and to share it with your local MP. Please also share and repost this thread! With thanks also to @Dennis_Porter_ , to @Excellion and to @JAN3com , whose work with legislators and on nation state adoption has inspired and informed our work, and also to @thetrocro and @JoeNakamoto , for their ever-welcome advice and support.

It is both terrifying and uplifting that most users of this platform appear to understand money creation, currency debasement and the role played by central banks better than a man who was the chief economist and economic adviser to Vice President Joe Biden under Obama. He is right that a country which controls its own currency cannot go bankrupt. But that he cannot coherently describe why a country 'borrows' money that it can itself create is nothing short of appalling. It isn't hard to understand that the borrowing itself is in no small way how the money is actually created - because all modern money, other than gold and #Bitcoin, is nothing more than someone else's liability.  The government creates a debt obligation (a bond) and it promises to pay back the buyers of that debt obligation, together with a coupon or percentage rate (fun fact: these used to be actual physical coupons attached to the paper bonds, which is where the name comes from). The new money is backed only by trust that this liability will be repaid.  It's liability money, backed by nothing more than belief. And it gets worse than this, when we consider how central banks themselves fund governments. When a central bank buys a government bond or makes a loan to a bank, it doesn't pay with cash. Instead, it merely credits the seller's or the borrower's account with new money that it creates from nothing, on a spreadsheet or a ledger it controls. When creating this new money, from thin air, with a mere keystroke, the central bank dilutes the unit value of all the other money currently in the system prior to that point. The new money floods into the system, being exchanged for less liquid assets, and for goods and services. Inflation results; and prices are driven up in the process.  So what can we do? Is there anything we can do to stop this flywheel? Not while we continue to use the liability money that they control and debase. But we now have an alternative. They are fighting us, as hard as they can, because they are desperate that people do not understand how this process works, and how central banks and governments can dilute and debase their national currencies, to the benefit of a few and the detriment of many.  Because the many are beginning to realize that perhaps, after all, they do not need to use only those national currencies that are melting like ice cubes in the sun. There is a new game in town - a money that can't be diluted, or debased, or issued without cost at the stroke of a key.  Thiers’ law states that good money will drive out bad money. And time is surely up for bad and collapsing monies.  Even if Jared Bernstein won't be able to explain why.

I'd suggest speaking constructively with your colleague @SenLummis , with @GOPMajorityWhip or with @WarrenDavidson - or with @Dennis_Porter_ if your goal is genuinely to protect the interests of United States citizens and to preserve their First Amendment rights at the same time.

About to head up to the Labour party conference in Liverpool, to fight the corner of Bitcoin holders and Bitcoin businesses in the UK. This was in the envelope along with my pass. Um, read the room, chaps.

This needs to be taken seriously but, as always, it's crucial to read the text of the actual legislation. TLDR Self-custody is not illegal: 1. This is a prohibition of anonymity, not of #Bitcoin. If you are able to prove eg through signing a message, that you control the keys to an address, it is not anonymous and is then linked to you. I understand that @Trezor and @SwissBitcoinPay are already working on UX to enable this. 2. The most apparent effect will be increased customer due diligence before you transfer in and out of self custody. 3. Your coins in self custody, and self custody itself, are unaffected. The wording clearly states, in bold, "The prohibition does not apply to providers of hardware and software or providers of self-hosted wallets insofar as they do not possess access to or control over those crypto asset wallets." Don't panic - read the actual source, and decide what if any action you'll need to take after doing so.

"It should not be controversial to affirm that UK citizens ought to have the right to spend their own money freely from their bank accounts for any lawful purpose". Buying, owning and selling #Bitcoin in the UK is lawful. It's government policy to make the UK a 'crypto asset hub'. How does this square with actions by UK-regulated banks, restricting UK citizens from transacting on UK-regulated exchanges, to buy assets that are lawful to hold and to use in the UK? This does not sit well with policies supported by @RishiSunak or @griffitha , or informed by the work of @DrLisaCameronMP and @cryptoappg . The freedom to transact is fundamental, and underpins our ability to exercise all our other freedoms in a democratic society. We at @bitcoinpolicyuk commend @brian_armstrong 's position, and this week sent the open letter below to the City Minister and to the Chair of the relevant All Party Parliamentary Group.

I once worked more hours over a weekend than it's legal to work in a whole week in France. I'd come into work on Monday, some weeks, and not leave until Thursday. Once I worked for 45 hours non stop, without a break, without sleep. Partners would yell at us to keep our Blackberries with us at all times, even in the toilet, because we were to be reachable at every moment. A junior associate tried to set herself on fire in the atrium of the building and her life was only saved by a very brave security guard. The entire experience was utterly horrific.

When I was a junior lawyer at a Big Law firm, my peers and I often used to wonder how the partners could treat us as they did. Sometimes, I’d arrive at the office on Monday, and not leave the building till Thursday, sleeping one or two hours a night on the floor under my desk, or not at all. We had people in our team fainting in the corridors, and falling downstairs from exhaustion, cracking ribs. Once, I worked for 48 hours without a break, and with no sleep at all. I would have done anything, and told anyone whatever they wanted to hear, if they'd just told me I could go to bed. We used to think the partners couldn’t possibly treat us like this if they thought we were human; and of course, we were right. We were looking at the question entirely the wrong way round. To the partners, we were not human; we were revenue-generating assets with a fixed cost base (our salaries), and we generated that revenue with our time. So the more revenue they got us to generate over time, the better for them. Only once we came to this realisation did it all make sense. In the same way, we tend to look at journalism the wrong way round. If we are labouring under the misconception that journalism is a search for truth, then articles like this from @jemimajoanna can be hard to comprehend. But when we realise that journalism is, fundamentally, no longer a search for truth, but for attention, then it becomes much easier to understand. We have also been looking at this question the wrong way round. Jemima is certainly winning attention for the @FT ; witness this post. QED! Jemima does ask “Is it time for the likes of me to admit we were wrong” about #Bitcoin. Although you can probably guess my answer to this, I actually wanted to address her conclusion, which is that in relation to #Bitcoin, “there is still no there there.” In her defence, Jemima has, like many of us, grown up in a world where digital scarcity is an oxymoron. Our whole lives, up to the invention of Bitcoin, have been filled with digital abundance, where anything digital can be endlessly replicated without cost. In such a world, it might be forgivable to think that everything digital or intangible behaves in the same way. Most intangible things do – if I send you an email, we both have the same copy, and other copies exist on servers across the internet. If I tell you an idea, we both have the same idea afterwards. But Bitcoin is not like this. If I have a Bitcoin, and send it to you, I cannot reverse that transaction, and I lose control of that Bitcoin forever. It cannot be replicated, and it cannot be copied. It is utterly unique, and in sending it, I have lost it. This is a poor analogy, but Bitcoin can be thought of as an email I can only send once, and a copy of which I cannot retain once sent. It is an idea that vanishes forever from my mind once I tell it to someone else. It is the discovery of digital scarcity in a world of endlessly copiable digital abundance, and we have never seen anything like it before. If your job, in any sense, involves the pursuit of truth and the exploration of new ideas, then you should seize the chance to explore and understand something like this with both hands. You should not let the chance slip away, or go on repeating the same facile points for more than a decade after the facts have proven you comprehensively and thoroughly wrong.

Some more personal and Bitcoin-related news…. As some of you may know, this is my last week at my fiat job. After a long, long while, I’m delighted to be making a move wholly into Bitcoin, and lucky enough to be joining the team at one of the most well-established and well-respected teams in Bitcoin….@CoinCorner ! I’ve long been a CoinCorner customer, and a huge admirer of their personnel, their experience, and their dedication to Bitcoin. I can’t wait to join @CoinCornerDanny and the whole team, where I’ll initially serve as Chief Strategy Officer. I’ll also aim to continue my policy work via @bitcoinpolicyuk, and will remain fully supportive of the team here as well, though I will take less of a decision-making role at the organisation. Looking forward to a new life entirely in Bitcoin, covering both the commercial and the policy side into 2026 and beyond. Thank you to every one in this incredible community who has made Bitcoin such a tremendous space in which to work.

🚨 Public Service Announcement for UK #Bitcoiners! 🚨 You may be aware that owing to the erroneous categorisation of #Bitcoin by @TheFCA (which @bitcoinpolicyuk and the majority of the industry strongly argued against), exchanges in the UK are bringing in new ‘customer frictions’ before allowing you to buy or sell #Bitcoin. So much for the UK’s laughable policy ambitions to make this a crypto asset hub, @CryptoUKAssoc and @cryptoappg. The process normally involves two steps - firstly describing what kind of investor you are, and secondly passing a quiz or questionnaire. If you are a new customer, you will likely also need to wait for a 24 hour ‘cooling off’ period before you buy. @bitcoinpolicyuk have been collating examples of each and every exchange questionnaire that has been released so far. We will pin this thread and keep adding to it as we review more. If you are struggling with the process, or if you want to get a sneak peek at what they look like, please check out the list below.  So far, we have examples from @CoinCorner, @coinbase, @krakenfx, @RevolutApp and @UpholdInc. We’ll update the list and this tweet as more come in. Remember, if you don't want to go through these absurd and unnecessary steps, you can always buy peer to peer without these restrictions from @peachbitcoin, @hodlhodl or @bisqnetwork, just for a start. @BimAfolami, @NatalieElphicke, @CryptoUKAssoc and @cryptoappg- I am afraid this entire bungled process sends a very different message out to the world than the ‘cryptoasset hub’ headline that is the policy of this government. It demonstrates nothing but hostility and a frankly confused approach to an industry that the UK could have made its own in a way distinct from both the US and EU, but where it is now being left in the dust.

If Greenpeace hadn't campaigned against nuclear for so long, there's a good chance we wouldn't be in the current mess we find ourselves in. It's ironic that you may be directly responsible for us missing the 1.5 degree target.

This week may feel very very dark for #Bitcoin and for those who believe that all people, everywhere, should be able to transact freely with each other, as one of their most basic freedoms. But know that this fight was always coming; and we would not be facing it right now if our cause was not just. And we would not be in this fight if we had not finally become significant enough for those who oppose freedom in all its forms, for those whose only wish is to monitor, surveil and control, to take notice. I'll have more to say on this and on what steps we might be able to take to continue transacting freely, peer to peer, without fear or favor, but right now please just hold on to that consideration: You are not alone. Your aims and goals are just. And we are legion.

Yes @Schwarzenegger . My parents died in a car accident when I was 21, and I and my 18 year old sister had to bring up our younger siblings (12 and 10 and the time). We were left homeless at the time of the accident. I spent years and years not wanting to do anything or achieve anything, but going to the gym each day, as though I didn't have a choice about it, was in retrospect better than therapy. And when I eventually hit the same weight as you hit in Pumping Iron, turned out I was pretty happy with myself...and kind of ok in the end as well ❤️‍🩹

This is hilarious - the @ecb is being community-noted to explain that the Euro lacks three of the characteristics of money 😂😂😂

There's supposedly a hill in Cumbria called 'Torpenhow Hill'. Tor - old English hill. Pen - Celtic hill. Howe - early middle English hill. Hill - modern English. Basically 'Hill hill hill Hill'. Imagine how it feels.

Not just students. It's terrifying to realise that an awful lot of lawyers and financial services professionals barely "remember 2008" either.

Gotta keep reminding @POTUS how much Brad and Chris loved Kamala, donated to her, and wanted her to win.

The UK spent £20 million in a single day because it produced too much wind power. Bitcoin miners would have paid for that power, if the UK were not so blinkered in its approach and determined to remain in the nineteenth century. I encourage @Ed_Miliband and @StarkClimate to read the DLA Piper article below, or the work from @bitcoinpolicyuk on mining as a demand response buyer of power.

Dear @joshdarcher and @CleanUpBitcoin, I had intended to DM you, but I’m using an open format instead as your DMs don’t appear open. Excuse the long form approach, but there’s a lot to cover here (but a lot of common ground). Introduction first: I’m a lawyer, based in the UK. My day job is at an electric vehicle company, but I also co-founded @bitcoinpolicyuk. We’re a volunteer, not for profit organisation, run by individuals giving up their time to educate and inform politicians and the wider public about #Bitcoin. Like you, I regard carbon emissions as a huge problem and something that we should collectively work to fix. Unlike you, I believe Bitcoin (and proof of work) can be part of the solution. Hopefully the rest of this letter will explain why. Before we get going, I’m sorry you felt you couldn’t have attended a Bitcoin conference and given your presentation there. In fact, there are very many Bitcoiners who share your concerns and you’d be very welcome; I suggest you watch the clip here by way of example (piped.video/watch?v=7yr2LLhy…), where @obi, @Mark_Morton_ and @jyn_urso speak about issues that I’m sure also interest you - and please do especially watch the last few minutes and the magnificent summary given by @jyn_urso. It’s extremely moving and sets the stage for much of the rest of my letter. Also, if you come to a Bitcoin conference with me, I will personally ensure that no one throws tomatoes at you! So - I believe a lot of the issues surrounding Bitcoin’s energy use come from the perception that Bitcoin is useless. A lot of other things that humans do use a lot of energy (heating homes, tumble driers, aircon, Christmas lights - see the visualisation here from the Cambridge Bitcoin Electricity Consumption index: ccaf.io/cbnsi/cbeci/ghg/comp…). I think, and so do many others, that Bitcoin is uniquely useful, and important, and that proof of work is a critical component in making it so. Why, is a matter for another letter, but in summary proof of work is the only incorruptible way of creating a non-government form of digital cash that cannot be gamed or manipulated by powerful individuals to their benefit and to the detriment of everyone else. And that is the first problem we want to address, to fix money, and to separate it from the state, much as church and state were separated centuries ago. However, it’s not just about fixing the money. Proof of work miners are very unusual buyers of electricity. They do not need to run continuously, like other data centres. They can be turned on and off very quickly, and can be located in very odd places, far from where people live. Miners are incentivized to find the cheapest sources of power, which are often wasted or stranded forms of energy. This makes them uniquely suited for all kinds of unusual operating scenarios, that ironically can help us make great strides towards a net zero world with a sustainable power grid. Remember - Bitcoin miners don’t emit any CO2. They simply buy electricity. Electricity generation can, and does emit CO2. This is the real problem - and is the second problem that we also want to fix. I wanted to set out a few concrete examples of what I’m talking about, as much of this is counterintuitive and, Iike you, I was once genuinely concerned about Bitcoin’s carbon footprint. There are a number of examples in this post: nitter.app/freddienew/status/1705… and in this excellent and comprehensive thread by @skwp: nitter.app/skwp/status/1335627973… but it’s worth listing a few highlights here. You may have seen this paper recently published by KPMG: advisory.kpmg.us/articles/20…. Their conclusion? "Bitcoin appears to provide a number of benefits across an ESG framework...new and innovative ways of leveraging the network continue to emerge, such as helping to stabilise energy grids, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and even assist with providing sustainable heat to commercial and residential properties." A few more key issues to consider , with links for further reading: 1. Bootstrapping and stabilising the renewable grid: You may have seen this article about the problems facing new sustainable power plants and the long wait for grid connection: theguardian.com/business/202…. Bitcoin miners are the most flexible customers available for an electricity grid and can make new renewable plants economically viable from day one (coindesk.com/policy/2021/10/…). Bitcoin miners will buy up spare capacity when it is not needed and turn off quickly when demand is high. We recommend a review of recent statements made by the CEO of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, where Bitcoin miners are already collaborating with renewable energy providers to stabilise the grid, in order to understand further detail on this topic: (nitter.app/ShaunEnergy/stat…). A Bitcoin miner, unlike any other customer, will give a renewable grid enough excess power margin in order to keep the grid running at times of high demand; miners will buy up the excess power margin when not required by the grid and can power down in minutes when demand increases (cnbc.com/2022/02/03/winter-s…). No other buyer of electricity is able to do this, and thus enable a renewable grid both to maintain consistently high power output capability, and to stay economically viable throughout. This is a developing area of power generation but is very promising as regards our capability to create a viable renewable grid in the near term (nitter.app/level39/status/1…). Furthermore, a large number of miners are in fact located ‘behind the meter’ at power generation facilities themselves, and able to use stranded or excess energy that the grid cannot accommodate (which would otherwise be wasted or curtailed). Mining containers are highly mobile and can be moved quickly to a location as and when needed. Curtailment is a huge problem for the wind energy industry, resulting in a vast amount of power that is simply wasted (in 2020 and 2021, there was 5.8TWh of wind curtailment in the UK; this is enough to power 800,000 homes: drax.com/wp-content/uploads/….) 2. Methane Mitigation: The UK government has stated that ‘Cutting methane emissions is one of the fastest and most cost effective tools available to limit global temperature rise to 1.5°C.’ (gov.uk/government/publicatio…). Bitcoin mining can assist in these mitigation efforts, predominantly as a buyer of first and last resort for landfill gas emissions (see vespene.energy/). The World Economic Forum has recently highlighted the potential for Bitcoin mining to do exactly this, profiling the work of Crusoe Energy (crusoeenergy.com/) in capturing stranded methane and using it to power Bitcoin mining data centres (weforum.org/videos/this-star…) . As I mentioned in my initial post to you, @MarathonDH now has an operational methane mining facility - preventing methane from ever reaching the atmosphere and effectively making the operation carbon negative: ir.mara.com/news-events/pres… I'd also highlight the recent statements from the White House report on Climate and Energy Implications of Crypto-assets in the United States that ‘Climate policy aligned with achieving net-zero emissions would have zero methane venting and zero methane flaring. A combination of regulation and technological innovation can help realise this vision... Crypto-asset mining that installs equipment to use vented methane to generate electricity for operations is more likely to help rather than hinder U.S. climate objectives". 3. Other ESG advantages - anaerobic digestion, microgrids in Africa, bootstrapping recycling and supporting circular communities/conservation efforts/repurposing waste heat…. There are an awful lot of examples to cite in this very broad category, so I will be as brief as I can: (i) Mining on a farm using methane from an anaerobic digester (power would otherwise be wasted): piped.video/watch?v=xkVOJAWP… (ii) Using the waste heat from miners to heat a greenhouse and reducing heating costs: euronews.com/next/2022/12/14… (iii) Mining as an additional source of income in remote locations: cointelegraph.com/news/how-b… (iv) Bootstrapping renewable microgrids in Africa: gridlesscompute.com/ with @whiteafrican (v) A surf school for disadvantaged kids in South Africa built around Bitcoin and founded by @BitcoinEkasi: bitcoinekasi.com/ (vi) Mining in Guatemala with used cooking oil and reducing its pollutant effects: typefully.com/teemupleb/c27O… (vii) Heating swimming pools with miners: A data centre is already doing this (bbc.co.uk/news/technology-64…) and I have started talks with a UK town council to see if there would be scope to help keep a school pool open via using solar powered bitcoin miners in the same way. There are many, many dedicated Bitcoiners who’d be happy to go into more detail here, such as @DSBatten, @DecentraSuze , or @jyn_urso. Just reach out, and they’ll reach back. And thanks to @JoeNakamoto, who motivated me to write this! Ultimately, Bitcoin has caused me to think at great lengths about what kind of world we want. And I want a world where everyone is free to use an open, permissionless, incorruptible digital money, that no government or powerful central bank can manipulate, inflate away or debase. A world where every house is heated by a Bitcoin miner, where wasted energy is used and not lost, where wind, solar and hydroelectric grids are balanced and supported by the Bitcoin network’s mining power; and where power itself is taken from the hands of those who abuse it, and is given back to us. So I hope this letter is merely the first step towards mutual understanding and collaboration. If after reading it, you still really do want to #ChangeTheCode, you can - anyone is free to submit a Bitcoin Improvement Proposal here: github.com/bitcoin/bips. But much as inventing a new language, it’s one thing to do it and another to convince everyone else to speak it. Despite all this, Bitcoin is permissionless, and anyone is free to attempt to change the code if they want to. Or, you can reconsider, step across the aisle, and work with us to change the world instead. The choice is up to you.

The Online Safety Act is both completely ineffective in its goals, and is also going to be a nightmarish data leak time bomb. As of today, if you're in the UK, you can't even access Reddit/beer without submitting your birthday and then ID. Purely by coincidence at this point, I decided to activate my VPN, @mullvadnet. Strangely, I was then able to access Reddit/beer with no issues at all I wonder if others will have the same experience on these kinds of sites?

This is quite a statement to read from the leader of a political party currently leading in the UK polls. Bitcoin "is the ultimate store of value for the digital age". Forget opening an Overton window, this essentially blows the frame right out of the wall.

Being polite to serving staff in bars and restaurants.

The journalists at @FT may seem impressive. They may write well, and know how to use a subordinate clause, and the subjunctive. They may even seem financially literate. But their utter, complete, and irrationaly blinkered idiocy kept you away from the best performing asset of the last 15 years, and possibly of all time. How should you view their opinions now?

Supposedly sensible publications in the UK are still putting out drivel like this about Bitcoin, so you may be feeling a bit down. But I'm currently buzzing after a two hour evidence session in Parliament. Finally sensing some chinks of light. And look at today's pass colour!

If we built just thirty of these, the UK would be able to power every single home in the country, sustainably and emission-free, for sixty years. We won't though, because we're the UK, and the last major infrastructure project successfully completed here was Hadrian's Wall.

Perhaps the UK should also start paying attention.

No wonder no one takes the UK or @BBCNews seriously any more. At $2 trillion, Bitcoin has a market cap that's two thirds the value of ALL the companies listed on the London Stock Exchange combined - yet the BBC still gives air time to clueless commentators calling it a 'toy'

Is this literally the only story about Bitcoin that the BBC will ever tell? It's never-ending.....

It's all so very tiresome... Perhaps you shouldn't leave any cash in your bank account that you don't want the government to acquire, by hook or by crook. Remember, that no government and no power on earth can get their grubby hands on your cold storage Bitcoin, unless you allow them to. It's your money after all, not theirs.

Using Bitcoin, they can now freely transact with anyone in the world, on a borderless and permissionless digital network. No one can stop them, and no one can censor their transactions.

1.2 million signatures in (I think) 24 hours. Let's keep this going. Send a strong message to Labour ahead of their conference. We need 2m to beat the second referendum petition. Should do it by this time tomorrow. Then I want to see this in the tens of millions.

Bitcoin is volatile in both directions, but in the two days since @EmmaforWycombe made this statement, the value of the UK government's Bitcoin has increased by c.300 million pounds. We absolutely must have people who understand this asset in charge of it on our behalf.

Read as much as I could about the credit theory of money and the quantity theory of money, and found ways to protect myself and my family from the pernicious effects of the dilution and debasement of national currencies by the misguided policies of government & central banks.

Please, before wasting valuable congressional time on drafting unenforceable legislation, meet with people such as @jackmallers, @saylor, @anitaposch or @jack who know how Bitcoin functions, and what a valuable tool it is for financial freedom & fighting oppression or censorship

Also simply noting that diesel is a much better bet than petrol for longevity. Some diesel engines will even run on cooking oil (with modification and not v well, mind you)

Whether or not a #BitcoinETF is approved in the US, at present UK retail investors are unable to invest in such products - even if they are provided by legitimate and highly regulated entities. We at @bitcoinpolicyuk acknowledge that although #Bitcoin is uniquely placed to offer its owners complete freedom from counterparty risk and from financial censorship if a person holds their own keys, nevertheless investors should be free to choose if they wish instead to gain exposure to #Bitcoin via a #BitcoinETF instead. We have today sent an open letter to the City Minister, @BimAfolami(copied to the chairs of two relevant APPGs, Lisa Cameron MP and @NatalieElphicke), highlighting the fact that current HMG policy not only has the result of excluding UK retail investors from investing in such legitimate and regulated assets, but also exposes such investors to the risk of greater harm, as was experienced during the collapse in 2022 of @FTX_Official. We have based our work on a review of the regulated products offered by @JacobiAssetMgt and include the text of our open letter here.

This is pretty outrageous behaviour from @newscientist . Yesterday, they published an article that included inaccuracies. The article received a community note. Instead of revising and reviewing the article, and engaging with the new evidence, they have now reposted to dodge the community note! If anyone who supports the pursuit of truth, science or has an interest in good reporting on #Bitcoin cares to take action, be my guest! nitter.app/newscientist/status/17…

Matt Hancock teaching us all how to socially distance was also great. independent.co.uk/news/uk/po…

Really great fun to join @ArchieX__ and @DecentraSuze on the @bitcoinarchive podcast to talk through the (many) wrong turns that the UK is taking in its meander away from a coherent approach to Bitcoin. Thanks for having us on, and for showing us the man behind the moniker!

Yet your regulator, @theFCA, won't allow UK retail investors to access @BlackRock 's most successful ETF product ever (the Bitcoin fund), and won't let UK investors come near this exploding industry. The UK is closed for business and at this rate belongs in the dustbin.

I initially dismissed the new paper from @schaaf_jurgen and @BindseilUlrich(the “most consistently mistaken men at the @ecb) as yet more rambling from the confused and the ill-informed, but the more I think of it the more sinister it becomes. What do they say? I quote: “Current non-holders should realise they have compelling reasons to oppose Bitcoin and advocate for legislation against it, aiming to prevent Bitcoin prices from rising or to see Bitcoin disappear altogether.” In short, they are saying NOTHING LESS THAN the commercial success of an asset, and the benefits that accrue to its holders, is unfair, and that governments should use their power to depress the price and destroy the value of that asset, because not everyone held it to begin with. Think about that for a moment, and then imagine if they had said this about any asset other than Bitcoin. Microsoft shares are too expensive? Early investors have benefited, and now I can’t afford to invest? The government must destroy the value of Microsoft! Google shares are now too costly for me to buy? I can’t afford gold, or wheat futures? I will lobby the government to prevent Microsoft share prices from rising, or to see Microsoft disappear altogether! The government must destroy this value! It’s only when we consider it through this lens that we realise how genuinely insane this position is, and can only wonder at the strange intellectual poison that appears to have infected both their minds. Thankfully, we’re already seeing legislation like the piece below, for which @bitcoinpolicyuk lobbied, and which recognises that digital assets are ‘property’ like any other kind of asset, and should be subject to the same kind of legal protection. Central bankers will not be allowed to arbitrarily select assets for value destruction; they will not win. Its also not as if people haven’t been telling sceptics like Jurgen and Ulrich to buy Bitcoin for years. Bitcoiners are if nothing else keen for as many people to benefit from the system as possible. Not merely for its price appreciation, but because it is a tool that solves problems, facilitates exchange, and opens up the world of finance to those hitherto excluded from it. Unfortunately, if you’re a banker at the ECB and ignored us, you will now have to have fun staying poor.

Wow - I am a little overwhelmed at the reaction to a post about proposed legislation, @SenWarren, and my kids and I tinkering with computers. This is a quick 'thank you' and 'welcome' to new followers. Intro: I work on #Bitcoin advocacy in the UK with @bitcoinpolicyuk, and tweet mainly about #Bitcoin, inflation, interest rates, and civil liberties - especially the #FreedomToTransact and the battle against #CBDCs. In my day job I'm a lawyer for startups (fintech and engineering). Occasionally I try to be funny, though this is not always successful. Glad to be on the road with you all!

I don't think we'd like him when he's angry.

I really don't understand the double-think that enables a person to say in the same breath '#Bitcoin's useless' and 'You can buy a nuclear weapon with it'. I mean, I don't need or want a nuclear weapon, but that seems like a pretty significant purchase.

Worldwide outages at banks, airlines and media outlets. Planes grounded, channels off air, payments stuck. But #Bitcoin and Lightning ⚡ continue working regardless. 99.989 uptime since 2013, in the face of relentless attacks. Onwards.

As you’ll know if you are resident in the UK, @TheFCA has been making it harder and harder for you to buy Bitcoin. Exchanges now have to comply with onerous regulation and must put ‘customer frictions’ in your way. The @bitcoinpolicyuk team are releasing a series of hints and tips in case you’re struggling with this process. Today, we look at several of the ways to buy Bitcoin WITHOUT having to go through this tiresome process (also illustrating how pointless and ineffective the FCA regulation is – if you can continue to buy Bitcoin immediately and without any friction, what is the point of the rules? How do these rules protect consumers if they are this ineffective?). In this thread we look at several of the non-KYC and peer to peer options we have tested. This isn’t an exhaustive list, but includes @peachbitcoin, @vexl , @hodlhodl, @bisq_network, and @Azteco_

The United Kingdom and @UKLabour now have no choice but to change course on Bitcoin.

As we digest the past week in #Bitcoin, have a read of 'A Cypherpunk's Manifesto'. As important today as it was thirty years ago.

April 2022: UK govt announces plans to 'make Britain a global hub for cryptoasset technology' (admittedly without any focus on #Bitcoin, but give them time). gov.uk/government/news/gover… Summer 2022: @TheFCA erroneously (in our view) categorizes Bitcoin as a 'restricted mass market investment' and brings in strict new rules affecting the way companies operate here. fca.org.uk/publications/poli… Autumn 2022: Firms withdraw products from UK consumers and appear to be continuing a slow but steady exit from the UK market. Some more examples collected here, from @skrill , @Nexo and @CoinCorner . A wonderful example of genuinely joined-up thinking from government and regulators, jolly good show all round and well done, chaps. @bitcoinpolicyuk's feedback to the FCA on the relevant regulation is below!

I'm not quite sure why we need to repeat this, but the authors of this paper (1) do not know what they are talking about and (2) are not qualified to say anything authoritative about #Bitcoin at all. They're the same two fellows that declared #Bitcoin dead in November 2022.

Really? Unwittingly? But @SenWarren reliably informed me that criminals preferred to use Bitcoin. What are criminals doing using the highly regulated and compliant banking system? Didn't the KYC and AML regime work after all?

They really really don't want the little guy to escape the Matrix, do they? This is apparently what happens if you try to buy Strategy/MicroStrategy preferred stock. Can't have little people benefitting, can we! You're blocked from buying more if you fail the questionnaire.

Dear Andrew Bailey, I hope you will concede there is a little irony in stating that the integration of #Bitcoin into the global financial system has stalled - on the very same day that some of the largest asset managers in the world take steps, via the launch of #BitcoinETFs in the US, to integrate #Bitcoin more fully into the global financial system. Larry Fink of Blackrock, by contrast, has recently said that “Bitcoin has the potential to transcend currencies”. You have also said: “My own sense is that it’s not taking off as what I might call a core financial service. For instance, using #Bitcoin as a payments method is pretty inefficient." We at @bitcoinpolicyuk are focused on education and the dissemination of true, correct and up to date information about #Bitcoin. If you, or anyone else at @bankofengland would genuinely like to explore and understand the power and potential of #Bitcoin as a payments network, and as a secure, neutral, distributed and unstoppable protocol for money on the internet, we would be only too delighted to meet with you and demonstrate some of the remarkable features of this technology, with which you may not be familiar. For example, I suspect that you have not even sent a base layer transaction, let alone watched a Lightning payment execute instantaneously, across thousands of miles, with a fee that is close to zero, and without the need for, or interaction with, a third party intermediary. We would love to demonstrate this paytech revolution to you, and to the Bank more widely. It is a revolution in monetary technology, and we are rapidly reaching the point where ignoring it, or mocking it, will no longer be an option for advanced economies or for their central banks. One day, those who oppose #Bitcoin will look as quaint as those who campaigned against the introduction of electricity or laughed at the early adopters of the mobile phone, and I do not want the UK to be one of those countries who are left behind in this way. In another ironic twist, I note that you and I are both alumni of @QueensCam. I have quoted our new President, @elerianm, below. I wonder whether @elerianm would be interested in hosting a panel session between us back at Queens’ on this subject one day? I could send you some #Bitcoin across the table, and you could witness the instantaneous, unstoppable, and uncensorable transmission of value, without a trusted third party, for yourself. Very best regards, Freddie New (Head of Policy, @bitcoinpolicyuk)

Here we are again.

Great news! @Strike has finally launched in the UK. If (like us) you've been eager to get going with the app, please take a moment to watch the onboarding walkthrough below. Because of @TheFCA's regrettable and in our view incorrect decision to label #Bitcoin as a 'restricted mass market investment', @strike are required to ensure that (i) new customers self-categorise as a particular type of investor, (ii) answer a set of questions covering several suggested areas, and (iii) wait for 24 hours after passing this quiz before they buy any Bitcoin. Note that these 'customer frictions' are not there because of Strike. They exist because the FCA does not believe you are sensible enough to know what you want to do with your own money. We've prepared the short vid below to give you an idea of how the onboarding flow looks, taking you through some of the questions and showing the countdown to your first buy at the end. Welcome to the UK at last, @strike and @strikebtc_uk !

This is absolutely based. Never thought I'd hear this from a European politician. Yes to Bitcoin, no to CBDCs, and a big thumbs up for transactional freedom.

Excellent news. The entire UK population all suddenly learning about privacy and censorship resistance, almost overnight.

While I respect that @MartinSLewis does not want to advise on #Bitcoin,I'd suggest that looking at the nature of *money* itself might well be something he could do in more depth (Btw Martin - remember St Stephen's Avenue? We met there a really long time ago...). Really, the only point I might nit-pick in the clip is where Bitcoin is described as 'illiquid', when it actually trades 24 hours a day, seven days a week. However, most Bitcoiners become committed to #Bitcoin as something more than a mere investment when they begin to understand just how warped is the nature of the other money that we are forced to use by governments. The fact that the value of your cash savings inevitably plummets over time as the currency is debased. The fact that when you work hard for your salary, you are playing a game to earn tokens that your opponents in the game can create for themselves, for free, and without limits. The fact that using money as a measuring stick simply does not work when governments and central banks are continually tampering with (and usually reducing) the length of that measuring stick. Your house isn't getting more valuable - it's just that the money is worth less. Finally, and most unfairly, the fact that all the advantages of this system accrue to the small number of people who control the supply of money, and that this benefit is asymmetrically skewed in their favour. The rest of us are left unable to afford the houses that are bought by those who take out enormous loans of freshly created money, which at the same time dilutes the value of our own meagre savings. It's not hard to understand that this system is not fair; and an appeal to fairness is one of the most fundamental appeals that humans can make. And so to #Bitcoin . Bitcoin treats all its users equally. There is a huge and real cost to its production, in hardware and electricity. It is available to all, no matter how well or poorly connected you are. The protocol does not discriminate - if your transaction is valid, it will be mined into a block and included in the ledger. It cannot be gamed by governments or central banks, and they cannot, ever, dilute the supply and debase the value of its units, as they debase the pound and the dollar every day. It takes power away from the powerful, and gives it back to us. So this is why we #Bitcoin , Martin. And we'd love to talk to you about it in more detail.

You’ll have seen a lot in the press this weekend on the government’s plans to sell its confiscated Bitcoin. This thread is to set out what we actually know about the likely process, and what’s likely to happen absent a change in law. TLDR: Any sale will happen largely because these coins were confiscated as the proceeds of crime, and the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (POCA) sets out a clear and prescriptive process for what should happen. We have suggested to the Government that, given the vast sums involved and the strategic importance of Bitcoin, they amend POCA to give themselves more discretion to retain this valuable asset. They have ignored us. Lastly, it’s worth saying that I am personally lukewarm on the idea of governments holding Bitcoin. At @bitcoinpolicyuk , our policy position is that nevertheless, if governments do find themselves holding Bitcoin, they must learn about it and safeguard it in the best interests of their citizens. Labour have so far failed to do either. DETAIL (links to all of these in the thread): The story so far We originally wrote to the Chancellor in July 2024, urging her to consider an allocation of our confiscated Bitcoin to a strategic reserve. Treasury’s predictable reply is below (image and in thread). We have had ongoing correspondence with the City Minister @EmmaforWycombe on this matter, but she has refused to consider a change to POCA that would enable the government to retain this Bitcoin on behalf of the Nation. See the second image below and the post in the thread. Where did the Bitcoin come from, and how does this complicate matters? The FT article in the thread is an excellent description of the background as to how these coins were confiscated, and the status of the ongoing criminal and confiscation process. What’s the government’s official line? Honestly, the government has been pretty disingenuous on this, trying to pretend (in response to questions in the House of Lords, no less) that they don’t hold any Bitcoin. Relevant post also in the thread below. What does the Proceeds of Crime Act say should happen and why is this important? Basically, POCA sets out a fairly rigid process for dealing with the proceeds of crime. The distinguishing factor here is that the sums involved are VAST (eg 2x the entire annual budget of the Met Police). We have advised the City Minister that given the huge sums involved, and the unique nature of this asset, this was definitely grounds for an amendment to POCA under a Statutory Instrument in order to give the Secretary of State greater flexibility to retain the assets for the benefit of the nation. She has of course ignored and belittled this suggestion – see the second image below and the relevant post in the thread. The following provisions of POCA therefore apply: Assets will be sold to satisfy confiscation orders. Next up is victim compensation: funds from confiscation orders prioritize this when ordered by the court. IMPORTANTLY – we understand that the victims here lost yuan, NOT Bitcoin. There’s an extra wrinkle here in that we also understand there may be diplomatic efforts underway to ask for the Bitcoin rather than the yuan which was originally lost…. Finally, after victim compensation and costs, any remaining funds go to HM Treasury via ARIS (the Asset Recovery Incentivisation Scheme). ARIS may also distribute funds to those bodies involved in the asset recovery, eg police, the SFO, HMRC, etc. We’ll keep fighting to educate the government in this incredible opportunity, but we also need YOUR help. Write to your MPs; get involved; let them know how important this is. Then again, there’s no better way for them to learn that they shouldn’t sell their Bitcoin than by selling it, and experiencing the sting of eternal regret.

Rob is also following Orwell's rules for writing good English, using the Anglo-Saxon instead of the Latin derived words: orwell.ru/library/essays/pol…

Thanks to every one of the 50,000 people who responded to the Bank of England's CBDC consultation. An overwhelming response, and overwhelmingly opposed to these instruments of surveillance and control. It may seem hard to make a difference, but together, we CAN effect change.

As the US takes bold steps to create a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, and @bitcoinpolicy holds events with US Senators, ministers in the UK continue to laugh at Bitcoin and bury their heads in the sand. But the UK holds enough Bitcoin to keep pensioners warm for two full years and cover the entire Winter Fuel Payment until 2027. This is not a laughing matter. Today @bitcoinpolicyuk replied to the latest letter we received from @hmtreasury. We set out responses to the criticisms they made in their last letter (also copied below) and continue to offer our time and expertise in helping them to understand this asset and to capitalise on our advantageous position, controlling as we do 61,000 coins. They may continue laughing, and continue ignoring us. But we will not stop doing everything we can to change this.

The day may come when I no longer have to respond to a laughably facile, unworkable, and utterly enforceable proposal from the @bankofengland, but it is not this day. This proposal is as daft as trying to limit the number of emails a person can send. Anyone with any understanding of Bitcoin or cryptocurrency will read this and simply laugh.

I love that they refuse to talk to someone whose work was so influential in the origin story that he's actually cited in the white paper (and who corresponded with Satoshi before the code was published) simply because of a profile picture.

It's about time. For two and a half years @bitcoinpolicyuk have been pushing for this illogical ban on retail access to exchange traded Bitcoin products to be lifted. Got to love the sanctimonious comment from David Beale below, clearly delivered through gritted teeth!

You're consistently one of the best things about Twitter. Thank you!

It is impolite to suggest that elected officials are boneheaded, but it's hard to think of a better adjective for those in the current UK government who have been persistently ignoring our advice on Bitcoin, its strategic importance, and our (lost) first mover advantage

The UK is falling behind, wherever you look. From failing at AI data centre construction to filling in potholes, there are stories of missed opportunities and mismanagement everywhere. But in one area, we can still claim a bronze medal – our national Bitcoin holdings, placing us third among all nation state holders. In the time since we first wrote to @TulipSiddiq on this topic in July, the value of this stake has increased by over a billion pounds. And all this with @TheFCA continuing their hostile policies towards Bitcoin adoption. Imagine the potential if as a country we chose to embrace this asset and this sector, instead of trying to drive it away? In October, @bitcoinpolicyuk welcomed a response from the City Minister and are delighted to be in dialogue with her and with her team. Today, we publish another open letter in reply, and share the details below. We look forward to working practically with Treasury and with Ministers to discuss and consider the issues we raise in more detail.

🚨 Attention UK #Bitcoin holders! 🚨 If any of you have had trouble buying Bitcoin (banks declining transfers or blocking accounts), look into getting a @CoinCorner e-money account. It's in your own name, and transfers to this account appear simply as transfers to yourself.

And thanks to the inspirational @dergigi whose article here gave us the idea: dergigi.com/2021/08/02/impli…

In fairness, Windows 11 has also made it impossible to find files and folders on your own computer. Quite often, Explorer simply won't open either. I keep a hammer by my desk and a supply of fresh laptops for moments like this.

This is your semi-regular reminder never to pay attention to what academics and economists who work for central banks say about Bitcoin. Quite simply, they genuinely have no idea what they are talking about; and unfortunately they will tend to write fluently, with a semblance of wisdom, and with the veneer of respectability granted by their respective institutions. None of them will have held, or used, or read about, or understood Bitcoin. This is a hard lesson to learn, as we still tend to grant such people the benefit of the doubt. But they're not the people to whom you should pay attention in this context.

Wow. Mainstream news, and actually a pretty reasonable description, covering both the limited and hard capped supply of Bitcoin, and contrasting that with ever more freely printed and debased national fiat currencies.

The Crypto Asset Reporting Framework – what does this mean for Bitcoin in the UK? How will it affect your personal 🚨safety and security 🚨if it’s implemented as planned? 👇 @bitcoinpolicyuk have today released a research paper and delivered this to HMRC with commentary on recommended changes to the draft legislation. What’s being proposed? Under the Crypto Asset Reporting Framework or CARF, it’s proposed that tax authorities worldwide will gather and have access to information on cryptocurrency transactions, allegedly to combat tax evasion and ensure compliance with tax laws. What’s wrong with it? The amount of personal and transaction data that will be gathered and shared is truly staggering. This won’t just be shared with your domestic tax authorities, but with others across the globe. It will include your name, address, date of birth, amount of Bitcoin held or sold or transferred. This is a highly dangerous level of intrusion into your personal and private life, particularly given the increasing frequency of data breaches (examples in our paper) and also the risk of violent physical attacks against Bitcoiners whose details are leaked to or obtained by bad actors. Additionally, the UK’s new draft regulations fail to make clear that none of these reporting requirements will fall upon the developers of free and open source software, as such persons cannot be in a position to comply. How should it be changed? We recommend two simple changes – that the information being gathered on Bitcoin and cryptocurrency users is severely limited and in a way proportionate to the high risk of personal harm, and that the regulation clarifies that it cannot and shall not apply to the developers of free and open source software. More detail in the thread 🧵👇

Oh. Whoops. @newscientist looks like your new post on #Bitcoin has also received a community note? Perhaps next time, try engaging in good faith with all those who provided you with evidence and peer-reviewed research that gave a different view from the article. You had an opportunity to examine new data, and write a new story, one that few people have told to date, about an emerging and little-known area of science and engineering. This is how the scientific method works, @catdl , as I am sure you know. Repeating a falsehood time and time again doesn't make it science. And doesn't make it true either.

Second book 😉. Restaurant at the End of the Universe. Great post btw.

This is why Bitcoin can't have nice things (in the UK). Since her appointment as City Minister, @bitcoinpolicyuk has reached out to @LucyRigby on multiple occasions, via open letters, direct emails, and otherwise, offering time, guidance, and expertise (all without cost to the public purse, of course. We're a not for profit). Some examples shared in the thread. Not a single word in response. And yet here we have Ripple popping up, yet again, and we read the same tired messages about 'digital assets' and 'innovation', all while the Bitcoin industry (60% or more of the entire space) is sidelined and marginalised in the UK, with Bitcoin businesses shutting up shop here, or withdrawing services, or looking at the UK's hostile environment and deciding not to enter the market. I'll be raising this with other members of both Houses of Parliament. We need to turn this ship around before the UK completely misses the Bitcoin opportunity it's ignored for so long.

Today, @bitcoinpolicyuk, @axiombtc, Cartwright and our other partners Battery and @Blockstream will bring together UK politicians (current and former), and financial institutions for a half day event aimed to introduce them to Bitcoin both an an investable asset and as a tool for financial freedom, fighting extremism, and fostering financial inclusion. I'll be on stage to interview Hadiya Masieh of @GroundswellPro3 and @DecentraSuze of BPUK on Bitcoin and the road to sustainability, and its potential as a tool to combat extremism and repression. As ever, huge thanks to all our supporters, members and especially to @HRF in enabling us to begin to build these bridges.

This will age as well as your paper here:

If you'd put #Bitcoin on your balance sheet a year ago you'd have made a 110% return by now.

Why do the Tories still have eleven seats? What have they done to deserve those?

I don't want to say 'I told you so' (but I told you so). We raised this specific risk in relation to the Crypto Asset Reporting Framework with HMRC. Bluntly, gathering and sharing the personal data of Bitcoin holders puts them and their families at significant risk. We argued that even institutions like @HMRCgovuk cannot be trusted to keep our data safe and secure, and that the only way to be safe is to limit or not to gather the data in the first place. We did not expect (😜) to be proven right so quickly.

A tale of two nations. On the left is the Seal of the Vice President of the United States, @VP . He has just spoken at Bitcoin 2025, setting out how the US now recognises the strategic importance of Bitcoin and is determined for the nation to lead the world in this field. On the right is a letter received today from @EmmaforWycombe , Economic Secretary to the Treasury in the UK, setting out how the UK will continue to ignore Bitcoin and miss out on all the benefits it will offer. The dissonance could not be more jarring.

Have you ever spent 50 bn not to build a railway though? How about 120m to send one person to Rwanda?

Disappointed to see this response from the UK government at exactly the same time there is so much Bitcoin development in the US. The UK very much deserves to be left behind here. Remember the names of those who made sure this happened.

Hey @harari_yuval - there is a key semantic difference between 'distrust' and 'trustlessness'. As I explained to you in the post below, there is no need for 'trust' in the #Bitcoin system at all, because the entire system - its code, its transaction history, its methods of validation and confirmation - are transparent and verifiable. You only need to 'trust' something that you cannot independently falsify or verify - like the modern banking system. So why trust at all when you can verify?

Not in the UK, they're not. Thanks, @TheFCA !

When we sent this letter and briefing paper to @RachelReevesMP and @TulipSiddiq in July, suggesting it would be prudent to develop a national Bitcoin strategy for the UK, the country's holdings were at about £3 billion. Today they're at £5 billion. Without any supportive UK policies. These holdings are rapidly filling up that £22 billion black hole. Imagine how much more quickly this might happen if the UK finally started taking Bitcoin seriously? Come on @CryptoUKAssoc and @TheFCA - let's align on the need for a study at least.

This is the Governor of the Bank of England. He thinks your wages are too high. What else would you like him to tell you that you can and can’t do with your money? Should we let him create a #CBDC? Thread 1/9 👇🧵

So according to @EmmaforWycombe , Bitcoin is essentially 'not for us' in the UK.... But it will now be included in the affordability analysis for home loan criteria in the little economy on our western shores known as the United States of America. I assume this is nothing...

Why can't you easily lend your Bitcoin in the UK without incurring a tax charge? Largely because the current tax treatment of lending Bitcoin sees the transfer as a taxable event. By contrast with stocks, shares and other securities, Bitcoin falls outside the scope of repurchase or “repo” legislation that enables the lending of securities to be tax neutral. This has to change. There's a huge economic opportunity here, and the UK’s financial services sector needs to seize it; to capitalise on this £1 trillion-plus market, particularly by providing collateralised loans and other financial services that facilitate asset management. Yesterday, @bitcoinpolicyuk were proud to collaborate in drafting and adding our name to a letter sent to @RachelReevesMP , @EmmaforWycombe and @jamesmurray_ldn , urging them to prioritise legislation to treat the lending of Bitcoin as a "no gain, no loss" transaction. This change would simply reflect economic reality and ensure that Bitcoin is treated in just the same way as securities currently are. We're pleased to sign this letter alongside @coinbase , @GreengageCo , @krakenfx , @recap_io , @TheSecretAcct and @CryptoUKAssoc , among many others. We keep hearing that 'growth' is a priority for this Government. Let's now see those words turned into actions.