Watch this incredible short video outlining Hal Finney’s story and why @HRF created the @FinneyPrize in honor of him and his contributions to human freedom thru technology.
3 things I wanted to understand about "agentic loops":
1. What are they actually?
2. Is it hype?
3. What are the real use cases?
This is the most practical, clearly explained video on "agentic loops" on the internet (thx @Rasmic)
https://t.co/BhZSTfM4uf
At the 2026 Oslo Freedom Forum, activists, artists, technologists, and changemakers from around the world came together to confront authoritarianism and strengthen the movement for freedom.
Massive turnout as we kick off our Lightning Developer Bootcamp in Kisumu, Kenya! 🇰🇪
It’s inspiring to see so many passionate builders and developers coming together to learn.
As always, it’s gonna be an exciting 5 days.
Thank you to everyone who made this possible. 🚀
First new Bitcoin podcast for some time
All new stuff in here
- why some miners are paying -2c/kWh for power
- why "Bitcoin Will Fix Energy Before Money"
- why the mainstream is now a hair-breadth away from seeing the first (of many) society-transforming uses of Bitcoin
"When we talk about stablecoins, what we're really talking about is giving the world access to Bitcoin as first-layer money."
Nik Bhatia (@timevalueofbtc) explains how dollar denominated stablecoins directly benefit Bitcoin. 🇺🇸
this better have more economic impact than:
-hoover dam
-golden gate bridge
-electricity buildout
-all broadband capex
-interstate highway system
-all tech capex
-apollo missions
Our statement on the UK government’s demand that all content on all devices sold or used in the country be scanned, on the presumption of nudity, using a dystopian combination of age verification and content scanning. This proposal will not safeguard children. It endangers us all.
https://t.co/VdWe9uhi8p
TFTC 755 w/ @_Checkmatey_: "When the bubble finally cracks, Bitcoin's going to be the most underowned, forgotten asset of all time. No one's gonna own it. Who's gonna sell it?"
We discuss:
⚡ The 4x divergence
⚡ Saylor's de-risk
⚡ Apathy = bottom
One more Oslo Freedom Forum, a lot more lessons learned
I'm not sure there is any greater inspiration for building freedom tech than spending most of a week hearing the stories of those actually fighting for freedom every day in their countries.
The rare chance to talk to real people, about real needs, who have real (and specific) ways they need technology to empower them not only gives inspiration and motivation, but helps me fine tune how we should be building Cake (and other apps in our ecosystem) from first principles.
Add on top of that the unique chance to get together with many of the best builders in the Bitcoin and freedom tech space for intimate dinners and small settings gives space for rare, slow conversations with nuance and purpose that can be the foundation for new ideas to spring from.
Lessons learned
1. Most freedom fighters are still hesitant about crypto in general, and those using it are mostly leveraging stablecoins (still) and not Bitcoin
2. There is a critical need for simpler wallets and apps that make Bitcoin easier to understand and use, and feel more like other apps. Less lingo, acronyms, and technical jargon, more simplicity, simple education, and entry-level focus
3. The positive use of AI by activists is enabling some powerful new things, like custom-built websites and social platforms that are built for a single mission, single purpose, and single country. While it's just the start, there were some awesome examples and workshops.
4. The interest in AI has far overtaken the interest in Bitcoin among the audience from what I could tell, and even much of the HRF programming in the freedom tech track was AI-centric
5. The number of people living under autocratic rule has skyrocketed, and is now 3 in 4 people (76%) 🥲
It was a fantastic time as always, and gives me so much fuel for building over the next weeks and months.
A huge thank you to @HRF for having @vikrantnyc and I, to @gladstein for his amazing vision and team-building, @arshmolu and @ck_SNARKs for the insane logistical juggling they do behind the scenes, and the rest of the awesome HRF team who make all of this possible.