Bitcoin misconception: all nodes maintain a copy of the same blockchain. In reality: most nodes will be able to synchronize to the exact same blockchain, but some won't. E.g. pre-segwit nodes don't see the same data as segwit aware nodes, so they can't maintain the same data. Yet, this won't cause a fork on the network because what matters is not to have the same blockchain. What matters is to agree about the UTXO set state at all times.
What an engineering marvel, absolutely insane. View quoted note →
What a delight it is to go through Grokking Bitcoin by @kalle. The best book I ever found to serve as the foundation for an excellent undergrad course. As a bonus, published as open source:
GitHub
GitHub - kallerosenbaum/grokkingbitcoin: Source repository for Grokking Bitcoin
Source repository for Grokking Bitcoin. Contribute to kallerosenbaum/grokkingbitcoin development by creating an account on GitHub.
 Why did I only find it after my classes have already started?
We just had the first sessions of the Mastering Bitcoin seminar. It's part of the enrolment for the Bitcoin Dev Launchpad. Vivid discussions with 200+ candidates. Huge impact for the Bitcoin ecosystem.
Vinteum
Bitcoin Dev Launchpad - Vinteum
O Bitcoin Dev Launchpad é um programa intensivo de três meses, criado para capacitar programadores a contribuirem e trabalharem com projetos no e...
Última semana de inscrições! View quoted note →
It all boils down to people who believe they know what's best for others versus people who just want to be left alone to decide their own matters.
Gold was an excellent money, it can hold value across time and space. But it has a fatal flaw: holding value a cross scale was difficult. Indeed, this is a problem with all physical commodities. If it is highly valuable, small value transactions that constitute the day to day routine of most people are hard to make. If it has low value, large scale transactions suffer and add friction to specialization and economic development. We solved this problem long ago with banks and gold certificates. But it was too easy for governments to corrupt the system and the people lost control of their money. Which is unfortunate, fiat looks convenient for small scale transactions, but it is made a hassle for large scale. It is not transferable across borders, and it doesn't hold value across time. It doesn't work for savers and innovators. It barely works for short term thinking people that conform to the norm. It only works to keep people under control. That's why it won't last forever.
My most recent paper addresses the excellent book Better Money: Gold, Fiat, Or Bitcoin?, by Lawrence White. Tl;dr for the bitcoiners around: - you probably don't understand the economic weaknesses of bitcoin, it's not superior to gold in all aspects. Tl;dr for the bitcoin skepticals: - you probably don't understand money enough, it's inferior to gold and bitcoin in virtually all aspects. Unfortunately, what drives adoption of new technology is not technical superiority, but the increasing friction on the incumbent system. For fiat, friction is called inflation.
Can we rediscover Better Money? | MISES: Interdisciplinary Journal of Philosophy, Law and Economics
Quando eu digo que pra um advogado que ele PRECISA aprender o mínimo sobre o funcionamento da Internet, sempre recebo algum sarcasmo de volta. Até a hora que passa uma vergonha dessas… Sem enforcement, não existe lei. E na Internet, poucas coisas podem ser de fato enforced. image
I'm not a dev, may I contribute to open source? Yes! https://medium.com/all-things-product-management/product-manager-you-are-664d83ee702e
FOSS Contributor Interview #2 - elsat
Contributing to FOSS as a PM without Permission