Aaron van Wirdum

2 weeks ago | bitcoinmagazine.com | Aaron van Wirdum

Bitcoin is freedom money, a censorship-resistant form of digital cash allowing anyone with an internet connection to send money to anyone else, regardless of nationality, borders, or other arbitrary restrictions. I personally first heard about Bitcoin in early 2013, through friends who were buying… stuff from Silk Road, the darknet marketplace helmed by the mysterious Dread Pirate Roberts.

Jan 29, 2025 | bitcoinmagazine.com | Aaron van Wirdum

The news got buried in part due to Trump’s inauguration and subsequent rumblings of a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve (SBR), but developer b10c recently published research showing that F2Pool — a mining pool representing ~11% of hash power on the Bitcoin network — is censoring OFAC-sanctioned transactions… again.

Jan 23, 2025 | bitcoinmagazine.com | Aaron van Wirdum

Technically, Donald Trump broke his campaign promise by not freeing Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht on day one of his presidency. (No, inauguration day is not “day zero.”) But as I explained in my previous Take, I wasn’t expecting a literal first day pardon anyways. Even day two exceeds my expectations. Trump delivered, and I’m very glad he did. When I first heard about Silk Road in early 2013, I was immediately intrigued by the concept of buying and selling drugs anonymously online.

Jan 21, 2025 | bitcoinmagazine.com | Aaron van Wirdum

I’m not here to say “I told you so.”In my Take from October 4, I did write that Donald Trump does not give a damn about Bitcoin, and in my Take from November 5 I wrote he just wants in on the crypto scam. But I didn’t mention Ross Ulbricht in either of these, largely because even I expected Trump to at least follow through on his promise to free Ross. It’s an easy promise to keep, without any real downside for Trump; after more than ten years in prison Ulbricht deserves to be free.

Jan 15, 2025 | bitcoinmagazine.com | Aaron van Wirdum

In his Take from yesterday, Frank invited bitcoiners to join Nostr: “The world’s biggest bitcoin circular economy.” I fully endorse this invitation; Nostr aligns much better with Bitcoin’s original values than — specifically — Elon Musk’s X. In much the same way that the money in your bank account isn’t really yours, your posts on X aren’t either — in contrast, your Nostr posts are connected to your own public key.