₿en Weeks ⚡

Open Source Dev | @LightningPiggy | @Lnbits | @Damus | @RobotechyShop | @BeeHappyFarm | npub1jutptdc2m8kgjmudtws095qk2tcale0eemvp4j2xnjnl4nh6669slrf04x

[₿en Weeks ⚡ @BenGWeeks]

npub1jutptdc2m8kgjmudtws095qk2tcale0eemvp4j2xnjnl4nh6669slrf04x

[₿en Weeks ⚡ @BenGWeeks]

@PeterMcCormack No Pantera?!?!

[₿en Weeks ⚡ @BenGWeeks]

@FinancialPhys You can carry a knife. You apparently just have to identify as a Sikh.

[Joe ₿ryan @satmojoe]

If you don't have Bitcoin in self-custody, then you are on the wrong side of the wall.

(A presentation to treasury company shareholders)

[Konstantin Kisin @KonstantinKisin]

Britain had a moment of silence for George Floyd. Our politicians kneeled en masse to show their outrage at his killing. "I can't breathe" became a slogan.

George Floyd died on the other side of the world. He wasn't British.

Henry Nowak *was* British and his treatment by the police was shocking and negligent in the extreme. Yet there is no minute of silence. There is no coordinated public campaign. There is no kneeling at sporting events.

And we all know why.

During the summer of BLM, some people said "All Lives Matter". This was treated as the highest form of racism and anyone who said this was immediately cancelled. Why? Because the people in charge don't actually think all lives matter in the same way.

They have created a racial hierarchy of victimhood where a career criminal who died through mistreatment by police in a foreign country with 0 evidence of racism like George Floyd is automatically sanctified because of the colour of his skin.

And Henry Nowak, a British man, one of ours, is automatically dismissed and ignored because of the colour of his.

This is the ugly fruit of so-called "anti-racism", an obsession with race that has created a two-tier society which treats people differently because of the colour of their skin.

This needs to stop.

[₿en Weeks ⚡ @BenGWeeks]

@BitcoinBRS @JazzTheJourno Maybe we should all carry knifes as self-defense and if stopped claim we identify as a sikh?

[₿en Weeks ⚡ @BenGWeeks]

Great show, and an interesting lesson. But ultimately, he's of the belief we can vote our way out of this. Even if Restore got in, the machinery of the state would prevent anything much changing from what we have learnt (as many ex-MPs have explained on your show). We have to defund government, and make the consequences of bad government severe, not book big book deals and 6-figure speaker fees (but also better pay for good government).

[₿en Weeks ⚡ @BenGWeeks]

@PeterMcCormack @frankwrighter That was impressively quick to get him on

[₿en Weeks ⚡ @BenGWeeks]

Sounds like a Bitcoiner to me :-) Brilliantly put @frankwrighter Will also post to Nostr (decentralised social media). https://t.co/0K2R0zZMlQ

[Nick Dixon @NickDixon]

Feel like this guy has waited his whole life to say this. Incredibly eloquent and accurate appraisal of the failure of Western elites.

[₿en Weeks ⚡ @BenGWeeks]

@stacyherbert @bitcoinofficesv @isiuuu_cruz @Constant9Ghost Thanks for that. Have reached out to @isiuuu_cruz and @Constant9Ghost - FYI you can't message @bitcoinofficesv unless a premium subscriber to X.

[₿en Weeks ⚡ @BenGWeeks]

@stacyherbert Do you have any points of contact for finding great AI / Bitcoin (Lightning) Engineers in El Salvador?

[₿en Weeks ⚡ @BenGWeeks]

@DudeJLebowski Looking good. Could be some cross-over with what we're doing with @LightningPiggy mobile app (e.g. learning material).

[₿en Weeks ⚡ @BenGWeeks]

@PeterMcCormack Does that mean we have a Real Bedford app coming soon that you can purchase tickets for Bitcoin, perhaps integrated wallet for fans, Nostr published events of fixtures with comments ... :-)

[Anshu @anshuc]

@github holy shit, how did the attackers find a large enough uptime window to get in?

[₿en Weeks ⚡ @BenGWeeks]

@tyagicapx Yeah, seems slower today and now seeing rate limit API errors.

[₿en Weeks ⚡ @BenGWeeks]

Very well put. Government in no way can be trusted and are clearly incompetent.

[Freddie New @freddienew]

I completed my response to this new Digital ID consultation last night, but was so angry (after watching @darrenpjones try to sell the policy) that I had to go further.

Full response from @bitcoinpolicyuk also drafted and sent in.

Conclusion? "The UK’s lack of a national identity system is far from a failure of modernisation, but should properly be thought of as a deeply rooted constitutional inheritance that reflects a fundamental principle: that the state serves the citizen, not the other way around. The Prime Minister spoke early on in his premiership about ‘treading more lightly on all our lives’. Digital ID is in fact more akin to the boot at the conclusion of Orwell’s ‘1984’, stamping on a human face, forever."

h/t to @BigBrotherWatch as ever.

[₿en Weeks ⚡ @BenGWeeks]

@MetroUK First? Are you sure? Who cares where they put their cock ... would they be a good prime minister?

[Bury St Edmunds Bitcoin @BSEBTC]

Friday 22 May
@GuildhallBSE

Here’s the running order for the evening.

£39pp including pizza and drink.

Plus: Pop-up bitcoin market.

Tickets:

https://t.co/Hhgk1MiPi4

[Bury St Edmunds Bitcoin @BSEBTC]

⚡️🏎️COMPETITION TIME🏎️⚡️
supported by @bitcoin_racing.

2x weekend passes (RRP £98) to watch @bitcoin_racing race are up for grabs!

🗓️23/24 May 2026

📍Snetterton

Raffle tickets cost £1 and are available via our website.

https://t.co/Hhgk1MiPi4

[Jordan Walker @JayW132]

London pint, 2000: £2
London pint, 2026: £10

The pint didn't change. Your money got worse.

[₿en Weeks ⚡ @BenGWeeks]

"Humans around the edge" 👀

[Brian Armstrong @brian_armstrong]

This is an email I sent earlier today to all employees at Coinbase:

Team,

Today I’ve made the difficult decision to reduce the size of Coinbase by ~14%. I want to walk you through why we're doing this now, what it means for those affected, and how this positions us for the future.

Why now
Two forces are converging at the same time. We need to be front footed to respond to both.

First, the market. Coinbase is well-capitalized, has diversified revenue streams, and is well-positioned to weather any storm. Crypto is also on the verge of the next wave of adoption, with stablecoins, prediction markets, tokenization, and more taking off. However, our business is still volatile from quarter to quarter. While we've managed through that cyclicality many times before and come out stronger on the other side, we’re currently in a down market and need to adjust our cost structure now so that we emerge from this period leaner, faster, and more efficient for our next phase of growth.

Second, AI is changing how we work. Over the past year, I’ve watched engineers use AI to ship in days what used to take a team weeks. Non-technical teams are now shipping production code and many of our workflows are being automated. The pace of what's possible with a small, focused team has changed dramatically, and it's accelerating every day.

All of this has led us to an inflection point, not just for Coinbase, but for every company. The biggest risk now is not taking action. We are adjusting early and deliberately to rebuild Coinbase to be lean, fast, and AI-native. We need to return to the speed and focus of our startup founding, with AI at our core.

What this means
To get there, we are not just reducing headcount and cutting costs, we’re fundamentally changing how we operate: rebuilding Coinbase as an intelligence, with humans around the edge aligning it. What does this mean in practice?

- Fewer layers, faster decisions: We are flattening our org structure to 5 layers max below CEO/COO. Layers slow things down and create coordination tax. The future is small, high context teams that can move quickly. Leaders will own much more, with as many as 15+ direct reports. Fewer layers also means a leaner cost structure that is built to perform through all market cycles.

- No pure managers: Every leader at Coinbase must also be a strong and active individual contributor. Managers should be like player-coaches, getting their hands dirty alongside their teams.

- AI-native pods: We’ll be concentrating around AI-native talent who can manage fleets of agents to drive outsized impact. We’ll also be experimenting with reduced pod sizes, including “one person teams” with engineers, designers, and product managers all in one role.

In short: AI is bringing a profound shift in how companies operate, and we’re reshaping Coinbase to lead in this new era. This is a new way of working, and we need to leverage AI across every facet of our jobs.

To those who are affected
I know there are real people behind these decisions — talented colleagues who have poured themselves into this company and our mission. To those of you who will be leaving: thank you. You’ve helped build Coinbase into what it is today, and I am sincerely grateful for everything you've done.

All impacted team members will receive an email to their personal account in the next hour with more information, and an invitation to meet with an HRBP and a senior leader in your organization. Coinbase system access has been removed today. I know this feels sudden and harsh, but it is the only responsible choice given our duty to protect customer information.

To those affected, we will be providing a comprehensive package to support you through this transition. US employees will receive a minimum of 16 weeks base pay (plus 2 weeks per year worked), their next equity vest, and 6 months of COBRA. Employees on a work visa will get extra transition support. Those outside of the US will receive similar support, based on local factors and subject to any consultation requirements.

Coinbase prides itself on talent density. Our employees are among the most talented people in the world, and I have no doubt that your skills and experience will be highly sought after as you pursue your next chapters.

How we move forward
To the team that is staying, I know this is a difficult day. We’re saying goodbye to colleagues and friends you've been in the trenches with. But here’s what I want you to know as we move forward together:

Over the past 13 years, we have weathered four crypto winters, gone public, and built the most trusted platform in our industry. We’ve made it this far by making hard decisions and by always staying focused on our mission. This time will be no different – nothing has changed about the long term outlook of our company or industry. And most importantly, our mission has never been more important for the world. Increasing economic freedom requires a new financial system, and we’re building it.

The Coinbase that emerges from this will be more capable than ever to achieve our mission.

Brian