Here's an interesting project that uses lightning to create a completely offline bitcoin vending machine. It's even battery powered, so you can just grab it and use it anywhere.



Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DaJGkJZsImo

Github: https://github.com/arcbtc/LNURLVend

It works basically displaying a specific QR code for lightning, once a lightning wallet scans it, it generates a PIN.

Under the hood it uses the LNURL-pay protocol to create a PIN which is displayed in the lightning wallet. The user then types the PIN in the machine and the product is delivered.

This sounds like a really useful way to sell stuff in conferences, meetups, etc, as it's very portable and easy to use.

Here's the video:

https://vimeo.com/607277369

It has some nice details, for example showing the actual hash of the first transaction, f4184fc596403b9d638783cf57adfe4c75c605f6356fbc91338530e9831e9e16 and some commonly used phrases such as "vires in numeris"

Here's the official description:

By learning about Bitcoin I started to learn how money really works.

I had no idea about how fiat was created and managed before I started to learn about Bitcoin.

This is great, thanks!

I have a question. Looking at the website, it shows this:


Why is there a 3GB difference in what seems to be just an order difference? Is it because the compression of sorted addresses is able to compress the data more, or am I missing something and these files have different data?

If anyone is actually interested in going to this ATM, it's located inside a store called Smart Point, at Juan Gorlero 29, 20100 Punta del Este, Departamento de Maldonado, Uruguay.

Lat/Long: -34.9593864, -54.9409259

Bitcoin is superior to gold in almost every aspect.

I find that gold is usually easy to buy, but difficult to sell. Some mints are happy to sell you gold but they won't buy back their own gold. Selling gold is not ideal, specially in large quantities.

Personally I prefer Bitcoin by far. It's much easier to deal with, it can be bought or sold internationally, and instantly, from your own home. You can keep large or small quantities of it easily, etc. It's just much better in every way.

Well, the value at the time was almost nothing.

What make those bitcoins valuable is taking care of them for a decade, without losing them and without selling them.

I reckon none of the 4 winners of those 25 bitcoins still have them today.

Here are some comments from Lord Fusitu'a. He thinks the Bitcoin bill has a 80% chance to pass:

Mexico doesn't seem to be anywhere near making Bitcoin legal tender:


source: https://decrypt.co/83472/mexico-bitcoin-legal-tender-president

Tonga has an Internet penetration of about 41%, although it's also reported to have 72.5% of it's population in social media. Not very trustworthy number I reckon.

source: https://datareportal.com/reports/digital-2021-tonga

It's not exactly 21M, but any analysis you do assuming it's exactly 21M is going to be valid anyway.

The real key element is that it's a finite number.

Lord Fusitu’a tweeted an estimated date when Tonga would theoretically make Bitcoin legal tender, if everything goes right:

https://twitter.com/LordFusitua/status/1481101011506774016


Basically he's estimating that Tonga will have Bitcoin as legal tender by the end of 2022, a few months later than originally expected.

5. Blixt Wallet

This is the official website:

https://findingnwa.com/incentive

Basically, if you're able to relocate there for a year, they are happy to give you $10k worth of ₿ and a bike.

This would be an interesting experience if you're a tech entrepreneur or you're able to work remotely.

Eligibility Requirements

There's a new, really well made, German documentary:

Human B (2021), The Insight Journey Into The Bitcoin Rabbit Hole | Youtube | Vimeo

I didn't see it mentioned in the original list in this thread, so I'm sharing it here. Absolutely recommended.

At least the president of Argentina said last year that "there's no reason to say no":

https://bitcoinmagazine.com/culture/president-of-argentina-open-to-adopting-bitcoin-as-legal-tender

With Strike opening up there, and having more people in government there understanding more about Bitcoin, it looks like a great candidate for the next country to make Bitcoin legal tender.

They also have already sent last year a bill to congress that would allow some workers, like exporters, to be paid in Bitcoin instead of having to exchange their salaries into Argentinean Peso:

https://bitcoinmagazine.com/culture/argentina-national-congress-bill

Looks like Argentina is positioning itself quite nicely to become the next one.

More interesting than logging into the account is to import the address they give you as a watch-only wallet. You can use blue wallet for this for example.

That way you're able to see the exact real movements on your account that are not visible from their system.

You'll see them moving funds away from your account to pay other users withdrawing, and when you withdraw it comes from another user's account, not yours.

I wouldn't leave my coins there, feels like a game of musical chairs.

Strike is one of the simplest and cheapest ways to buy Bitcoin and pay using lightning.

Argentina has one of the largest inflation problems in the world. In about a decade, one Argentinean peso went from roughly $1 to roughly one cent.

Here's the announcement:

https://twitter.com/jackmallers/status/1480964517169410055?s=21

I can see this as the beginning of a new era for Bitcoiners in Argentina. The ability to exchange their fiat for Bitcoin in an easy and cheap way will help many in there.

This might even position Argentina as a candidate for becoming the next country that makes Bitcoin legal tender.

3. candles
5. child wallet
6. scripted reversals

Personally I find investing in Bitcoin way more convenient than investing in gold.

I can send money from my bank account to an exchange, which auto-buys bitcoin, and after it passes a threshold, it automatically withdraws it into my own wallet. That means basically I'm almost directly sending fiat and receiving Bitcoin from it into my wallet. It's amazing.

To invest in gold I would have to buy it, wait for it to be shipped or I pick it up and transport it. Very risky and complicated. Plus I have to trust everyone involved in the transaction so that I don't end up getting a fake.

Then to store it properly. It's such a hassle, and what if I need to get fiat from gold, I would have to bring that stuff into a physical shop and sell it there. Some mints don't buy back their own gold.

It just feels so antiquated and inconvenient to invest in gold when there's bitcoin available.

I think it's a matter of time until more and more people realize this.

Bitcoin already won, it's just that a lot of people are not aware of it.

Literally just not sitting down and reading about it from the original sources.

I just kept hearing about it from 3rd parties, things like articles, TV, etc.

It was just until very recently that I sat down and read the whole thing from the original stuff.

Once I finished reading about it I was hooked. Can't believe I just went along with the opinion of these 3rd party people for so many years.