Gabridome

🇪🇺🇳🇱 DUTCH COURT OF AUDITS FINDS "NO UNDERSTANDING" OF EFFECTIVENESS FOR AML APPROACH The Dutch Court of Audits has published a paper on Anti-Money Laundering (AML) in banking, finding that "there is no understanding of the effectiveness of the anti-money laundering approach." The paper states that "it is not clear whether the increasing controls by banks actually contribute to the prevention and detection of money laundering," while highlighting the significant costs imposed on banks. According to the court, AML measures are discriminatory particularly towards people with foreign surnames, stating that the lack of proven effectiveness of the measures "does not establish that this distinction is justified." The court plans to put its research into EU perspective later this year.

Yes, we need "builders" all right! But not for fancy, novel, shining "use cases": for trivial, boring, basic-bitch ones, which are still shitty! We don't have decent and simple tooling yet for acquiring sats, hodling sats and spending sats, with some minimum level of privacy and state-resistance (which is the ONLY reason for Bitcoin to even exist in the first place). And you dream of subsidizing a new wave of bored Silicon-Valley kids with anxiety issues and pronouns in bio, to further waste our time hyping "smart contracts", "NFT" scams, "agentic" bots and "Quantum" nonsense? Fuck them. They can stay in the current-thing fiat bubble. We need cypherpunk engineers with long-enough attention spam to focus on real, boring things. It's 2026, and when a normie asks me a tool to use Bitcoin properly, I *don't* have a clean, simple answer. I teach them to stack sats avoiding KYC, but bisq and robosats and vexl are far from perfect and standard. People use shit like binance. I teach them to hodl keys properly, but airgapping and multisig with coldcard, seedsigner, liana, sparrow, nunchuck are far from perfect and standard (let alone if they want to manage inheritance). I teach them to use the Lightning Network to pay small amounts, but really usable LN last-mile security models, like arks and mints, are still early and don't have good tooling yet, and wallets with decent, contact-based UX, like Blitz, are still niche and experimental. I teach them to run nodes instead of blindly trusting third parties and leaking sensitive information, and to conjoin from and to cold-storage, but even with node-in-a-box tools like Start9+JAM, syncing a full node is still terrible UX, and running joinmarket effectively far from trivial. And what about having all those things in a single consistent app or framework? Still a wet dream! Fuck your imaginary, scammy "new use cases". Shitcoins already exist for those. Let's fix the real ones.

Traete voi le conclusioni 😳😬

It’s time for bitcoiners to step up and build. You don’t need to know anything about software development anymore, you just need to know how to write words! We have a golden opportunity to build out agentic payments based on open money, rather than letting agentic payments be captured by megacorps yet again. But we’re squandering it arguing about useless crap instead of building. Play with openclaw, give it a bitcoin wallet (moneydevkit makes this super easy! Also Lexe and phoenixd!), make it do things. If it fails to do what you want, go fix it! Have your agent build that bitcoin domain reseller, that bitcoin airline ticket reseller, or whatever it is you want! Bitcoin doesn’t just happen, it’s built. Join in.

If you watch the movie "Jaws" backwards, it becomes the heartwarming story about a shark who swims around giving arms and legs to disabled people.

Tick tock, next block.

There are a lot of people who claim that Bitcoin doesn't have any value. Not only does the market disagree with them, considering you can trade one in the market for $67,000, or 100 Bitcoin for $6,700,000... They fundamentally misunderstand that VALUE is subjective and a lot of the VALUE is derived from UTILITY. For Bitcoin to have no value, it would have no utility. Which is incorrect. These are the ways Bitcoin has utility: You can hold and transfer value without asking permission from a bank, government, or corporation. Custody is native. If you control the keys, you control the asset. No account freezes, no capital controls, no gatekeepers. Fixed supply of 21 million, enforced by code and global consensus. No discretionary issuance, no bailouts, no monetary “emergency powers”. Predictable issuance schedule removes policy risk entirely. Transfers value across borders in minutes, not days. No reliance on correspondent banking, SWIFT, or FX intermediaries. Settlement finality without counterparty risk. Inflation resistance, fiat loses purchasing power by design. Bitcoin’s supply cannot respond to political pressure or debt cycles. Acts as a long-term hedge against currency debasement, not short-term volatility. First digital asset you can truly own, not a claim on someone else. Cannot be duplicated, censored, or revoked if secured properly. Functions more like digital land than digital cash. Converts stranded, wasted, or excess energy into a globally liquid asset. Incentivizes grid stability and renewable overbuild. Turns energy into money without geography. Provides an escape hatch from fragile banking systems. Functions during capital controls, bank failures, and currency crises. Always on, always accessible. No issuer, no CEO, no jurisdiction. Anyone can build on top of it without permission. Serves as a politically neutral foundation for global value transfer. Bitcoin’s real utility is simple and brutal. It separates money from the state. It converts trust from institutions into mathematics. It lets individuals store and move value without reliance on anyone else. Everything else, price, volatility, narratives, cycles, is downstream from that.

@PortfolioXpert I have always thought this may have happened, but nobody is telling me today how much this SFR is and how to measure it.

So here’s the issue you get influencers like this guy have a quarter million followers and they claim they don’t know why it is declining… it’s because they don’t understand basic mechanics of price discovery. They don’t understand that the marginal buyers or the float determines price they think the onchain bitcoin is that is the price discovery Well, it was once upon a time but now.. Once you can synthetically manufacture the supply, the asset is no longer scarce and once scarcity is gone, price becomes a derivatives game, not a supply-and-demand market. This is exactly what has happened to Bitcoin. This is the same structural break that occurred in gold, silver, oil, and eventually equities once they became derivatives-dominated. The original premise that no longer exists Bitcoin’s entire valuation logic was built on finite supply (21M) and inability to be rehypothecated. That died the moment: •Cash-settled futures •Perpetual swaps •Options •ETFs •Prime broker lending •Wrapped BTC •Total return swaps were layered on top of the chain. From that moment forward: Bitcoin supply became theoretically infinite. Not on-chain in price discovery. The metric that explains the collapse Synthetic Float Ratio (SFR) Once you can synthetically manufacture the supply, the asset is no longer scarce — and once scarcity is gone, price becomes a derivatives game, not a supply-and-demand market. That is exactly what has happened to Bitcoin. This is the same structural break that occurred in gold, silver, oil, and eventually equities once they became derivatives-dominated. Why Wall Street can now “trade against” Bitcoin They do exactly what they’ve done in every commodity market: 1.Create unlimited paper BTC 2.Short into rallies 3.Force liquidations 4.Cover lower 5.Repeat They are not “betting” — they are manufacturing inventory. The same 1 BTC can now support: •An ETF unit •A futures contract •A perpetual swap •An options delta •A broker loan •A structured note All at once. That is six claims on one coin. That is not a market. That is a fractional reserve price system.

@PortfolioXpert I thought ETFs were 1 to 1 backed by bitcoins.

I’ve had more people reach out to me shaken in this cycle than even in 2022 (when Bitcoin went down 75% from $68k ATH to $16k!) saying they’re panicked, they sold, or they’re suddenly “not sure” about Bitcoin. Some bailed into gold because they still want to stay on the hard money train. Some are convinced quantum computing is about to “break” Bitcoin. Some tell me I’m reckless for being so undiversified with my life’s savings. I understand the fear. Drawdowns aren’t fun. They can mess with your confidence and your timeline…especially when the mood is this dark (and when your income is tied to the same asset you’re holding!). But here’s where I’m at: Bitcoin is still the only life raft worth holding and helping other people find. My mom gets $900 a month in Social Security. Who can live on that? That’s not a retirement plan - it’s a slow economic strangulation. So no, I’m not in Bitcoin because it’s some thrilling get rich overnight scheme. I’m in Bitcoin because I don’t see another path that gives everyday families like mine a real shot. I didn’t get in early enough to be “set.” I’m still building. Still working. Still trying to protect the people I love in a system that keeps making life more expensive! I haven’t lost faith….not because I’m numb to this volatility, but because the problem Bitcoin solves hasn’t gone away. If you’re shaken right now, you’re not weak. You’re human. Just don’t confuse a bad market mood with a broken thesis. Keep going. Zoom out. Do the work. Take care of your family. I’m doing the same. We’ve got this.

In 2014, during Blockstream’s seed-round investor roadshow, the company was introduced to then MIT Media Lab director Joi Ito. Subsequently Blockstream met with Jeffrey Epstein, who was described at the time as a limited partner in Ito’s fund. That fund later invested a minority stake in Blockstream. A few months later, Ito’s fund divested its Blockstream shares due to a potential conflict of interest, and other concerns. Blockstream has no direct nor indirect financial connection with Jeffrey Epstein, or his estate.

@david_eng_mba How much is the paper-vs-spot ratio today and how can we monitor it?

Why Bitcoin Explodes at Settlement and Not Adoption (Paper vs Spot) Given this structure, a 5 to 10X Bitcoin settlement squeeze is not just possible, it’s the likely outcome. Most people think Bitcoin rallies on adoption. That’s wrong. Bitcoin reprices when claims are forced to settle. Paper vs Spot: The Core Mistake There are two Bitcoins trading under the same ticker: Spot Bitcoin bearer asset, on chain, final settlement, capped at 21M. Paper Bitcoin exchange balances, ETFs, derivatives, lending claims. Same ticker. Different physics. Price is not set by total supply. Price is set by marginal tradable supply. Paper Bitcoin expands that supply without creating coins. The Setup (Hard Numbers) Reduce the system to one representative venue: Real reserves: 100 BTC Customer claims: 130 BTC Paper multiple: 1.3× Spot price: $100,000 The exchange is economically short 30 BTC. Not fraud. A balance-sheet bet that users won’t all withdraw at once. The Game Theory (Coordination Game) Every depositor faces the same choice: Trust (leave funds) or Verify (withdraw). 1. Everyone Trusts (Status Quo) Depositor Result: App shows “1 BTC” Market Result: Suppressed. (Supply appears inflated: 130 claims vs 100 coins) 2. You Withdraw, Others Don’t Depositor Result: You get real BTC. Market Result: No Impact. 3. Everyone Withdraws (The Snap) Depositor Result: Claims > Coins. Market: Forced spot buying the missing coins must be bought immediately The equilibrium is “everyone trusts.” It works until it doesn’t. You’re not betting on adoption. You’re betting on Option 3. How the Unwind Actually Plays Out Step 1: Early Withdrawals Withdrawals: 20 BTC Reserves: 80 BTC Remaining claims: 110 BTC System holds. Confidence remains. Step 2: Coordination Shift Fear replaces yield. Additional withdrawal demand: 81 BTC Available reserves: 80 BTC Shortfall: 1 BTC That’s the break. Step 3: Forced Settlement (This is where price jumps) The exchange cannot delay settlement. They must buy spot BTC immediately. But the sell side is thin. Illustrative order book: 0.1 BTC @ $100k 0.1 BTC @ $105k 0.3 BTC @ $120k 0.5 BTC @ $150k To source 1 BTC, the buyer must clear the book up to $150,000. A 50% price move caused by a 1% reserve gap. Why This Move is Non-Linear The exchange is a price-insensitive buyer. They are not optimizing execution. They are avoiding insolvency. That’s why: Small shortages Create large gaps Not smooth rallies This is not a demand story. It’s a settlement constraint. The Rubber Band Effect Paper supply behaves like a stretched rubber band. Expansion phase: Paper multiple rises to Liquidity looks abundant to Price looks capped. Resolution phase: Claims converge to coins to Effective supply contracts instantly. Price doesn’t adjust gradually. It snaps. The Math (Foundation) You are not betting on adoption curves. You are betting on this identity: 130 claims cannot clear against 100 coins without repricing. No narrative required. No timing required. Bottom Line Bitcoin doesn’t explode when demand appears. It explodes when settlement is demanded. The music is still playing. The system is already short chairs. That’s the game. The Trillion Dollar Question, When Does it Break? Bitcoin doesn’t break on a schedule. It breaks when claims cross a settlement threshold. What moves the system from stability to failure isn’t price. It’s claims rising while float shrinks. State 2 can last months. State 3 rarely lasts long. State 4 happens in days. Nothing happens. Then everything happens. Given my background in energy development, derivatives, and commodity trading and hedging, the clearest analogue is a freeze: Prices don’t rise gradually, they jump 5–10× when delivery breaks.

Italian olive oil is one of the most adulterated products in global food supply. Estimates suggest 70 to 80% of "extra virgin olive oil" sold globally is either mislabelled lower-quality oil or mixed with cheaper seed oils. The fraud is controlled by organised crime. The Italian Mafia, specifically the 'Ndrangheta, runs olive oil adulteration operations that generate more profit than cocaine trafficking. They import cheap olive oil from Tunisia, Morocco, and Turkey, relabel it as Italian, and export it at premium prices. Or they mix extra virgin olive oil with refined olive oil, lampante oil (lamp oil quality, unfit for human consumption), or seed oils like sunflower and soybean, then sell the mixture as pure extra virgin. The Italian government knows this. The EU knows this. Occasional busts happen but the fraud continues because the profit margins are enormous and the penalties are minimal. Even "legitimate" olive oil has environmental problems. Intensive olive cultivation in Spain has created eroded hillsides, depleted aquifers, and contaminated groundwater from pesticide runoff. Traditional olive groves in Mediterranean regions are being replaced by high-density intensive groves that produce more oil per hectare but require irrigation in arid climates, heavy pesticide use, and mechanical harvesting that damages soil. The waste water from olive oil production is highly polluting. For every liter of olive oil, 1 to 1.5 liters of waste water is generated containing organic compounds, phenols, and residual oil. This waste is often dumped in evaporation ponds or inadequately treated before discharge. Your £12 bottle of "Italian extra virgin olive oil" is probably mislabeled Tunisian oil mixed with seed oils, possibly sold by organized crime, definitely contributing to water depletion in Mediterranean regions, and generating toxic waste during production. But it's from plants, so it's definitely healthier than butter from British dairy cows.

I'm a Reserve Manager at a central bank. My job is buying gold. 297 tons this year. Quietly. While we print money. Loudly. Gold hit $5,000 an ounce yesterday. We've been buying since it was $1,800. That's called "reserve diversification." Diversification means we don't trust our own currency. But we can't say that. So we say "diversification." The Governor went on television last month. He said inflation is "anchored." Anchored means 6%. Used to mean 2%. We moved the anchor. That's monetary policy. He said the currency is "sound." Sound means losing 20% of its value. Per year. But it sounds sound. That's what matters. We bought 45 tons in November. Poland bought 95 tons. Brazil bought 43. China reports 1 ton. China is lying. We all know. Nobody says it. 95% of central banks plan to buy more gold next year. That's a survey. We surveyed ourselves. On whether we trust ourselves. We don't. We trust gold. Citizens ask why prices keep rising. We say "supply chains." We say "external factors." We don't say "we printed 40% of all money in existence since 2020." That's not external. That's us. The Finance Minister asked if gold is a hedge against our own policies. I said "gold is a strategic reserve asset." Strategic means yes. I just can't say yes. Gold is $5,000 now. Our currency buys less every day. Our gold buys more. That's the strategy. For us. Not for you. You get the currency. We get the gold. That's central banking.

Two years ago I decided to escape the rat race and choose life. I sold almost everything I owned to go all in #bitcoin except my mortorcycle and travel gear. Now I’m riding through the Andes with my wife. If that’s not winning at life, it really feels like it.

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿English to become the official European language🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 The European Commission has just announced an agreement whereby English will be the official language of the European Union rather than German, which was the other possibility.  As part of the negotiations, the British Government conceded that English spelling had some room for improvement and has accepted a 5- year phase-in plan that would become known as "Euro-English".  In the first year, "s" will replace the soft "c". Sertainly, this will make the sivil servants jump with joy. The hard "c" will be dropped in favour of "k". This should klear up konfusion, and keyboards kan have one less letter. There will be growing publik enthusiasm in the sekond year when the troublesome "ph" will be replaced with "f". This will make words like fotograf 20% shorter.  In the 3rd year, publik akseptanse of the new spelling kan be expekted to reach the stage where more komplikated changes are possible.  Governments will enkourage the removal of double letters which have always ben a deterent to akurate speling.  Also, al wil agre that the horibl mes of the silent "e" in the languag is disgrasful and it should go away.  By the 4th yer peopl wil be reseptiv to steps such as replasing "th" with "z" and "w" with "v".  During ze fifz yer, ze unesesary "o" kan be dropd from vords kontaining "ou" and after ziz fifz yer, ve vil hav a reil sensi bl riten styl.  Zer vil be no mor trubl or difikultis and evrivun vil find it ezi TU understand ech oza. Ze drem of a united urop vil finali kum tru.  Und efter ze fifz yer, ve vil al be speking German like zey vunted in ze forst plas.