• Bitcoin and the Lightning Network are not enough to successfully implement an American sound money system.
• New social technologies and new social system designs need to be part of the equation.
• The primary purpose of money is to facilitate the exchange of value and it is our most critical, most important, baseline social system.

The American economy is in dire need of a sound money system that can provide stability and credibility to its citizens. Currently, the U.S. dollar is the world’s reserve currency, but its worth is weakening as the Federal Reserve continues to print more money. Bitcoin and the Lightning Network are seen as potential solutions, but their success relies on the integration of new social system technologies.

Money is more than just a medium of exchange — it is a social system. The primary purpose of money is to facilitate the exchange of value, but it also serves to instill trust and provide social stability. In an increasingly digital world, money must be able to keep up with the changing times. As such, new technologies and system designs need to be developed in order to ensure that the money system is robust enough to provide the necessary security and reliability.

Cryptocurrency, such as Bitcoin, is a potential solution. Bitcoin provides a secure and trustless platform for the storage and transfer of value. With the Lightning Network, Bitcoin can also provide instant and near-free transactions with minimal fees. However, even with these features, Bitcoin alone is not enough to effectively implement an American sound money system.

To truly create a successful money system, new social system technologies and designs must be implemented. These new systems must be designed to ensure that the money system is secure and reliable, while also providing social stability. To do this, system architects must look to evolutionary economics to create a new money system that can meet the needs of the modern world.

This new money system should also take into account the potential risks associated with the use of money, such as the potential for fraud, theft, and manipulation. To address these issues, new technologies and designs must be developed that can mitigate these risks and ensure the safety of users. Additionally, the system should be designed to be transparent and accountable, providing users with the assurance that their money is safe and secure.

Ultimately, it is only when Bitcoin is integrated with new social system technologies and designs that it can effectively fulfill its primary purpose — to facilitate the exchange of value. With the right system in place, Bitcoin and the Lightning Network can be used to create a sound money system that can provide stability and credibility to citizens of the United States.

• Satoshi Nakamoto created the first block in the Bitcoin blockchain on Jan 3, 2009.
• Engraved in the Genesis block is Bitcoin’s message of opposing central bank policies and restoring accountability and anti-fragility through sound money.
• Bitcoin’s distributed network of nodes enables individuals to take up the reins of their financials and ensure property rights to millions.

On Jan 3, 2009, the world of finance and economics changed forever. On this fateful day, Satoshi Nakamoto created the first block in the Bitcoin blockchain. This singular event kickstarted a movement that has only kept growing and expanding in the years since. The Genesis block not only serves as an anchor to the physical world, establishing a birthdate for Bitcoin, but also serves as a philosophical statement. Engraved in the block is a powerful message: “Chancellor on brink of the second bailout for banks”. This message encapsulates Bitcoin’s raison d’être, emphasizing its purpose of opposing central bank policies and restoring accountability and antifragility through sound money.

Bitcoin seeks to level the playing field, ensuring property rights to millions around the world equally and irrespective of their status, race, religious beliefs, gender or nationality. This is enabled by a distributed network of nodes, each running Bitcoin’s protocol and as such enforcing its rules. This system allows individuals to finally take up the reins of their financials and gain control of their finances.

Since the first block was mined, the power of Bitcoin and its mission has been put on display countless times. As the days and years go by, it is becoming ever clearer that its purpose is more necessary than ever before. Bitcoin is more than just a cryptocurrency, it is a revolution and a beacon of hope for a better economic future.

• Fedi, a technology company focused on building a Fedimint-based community custody platform, is launching a Bitcoin hackathon where developers can build out a Fedimint module and win 2.1 BTC.
• Some ideas of what those modules could be include tools for communal savings pools, storing value in a local currency, private payments, and a communal vote based spending pool.
• Fedimint is an open source custody platform that allows users to not only store their bitcoin, but also extend the functionality of their bitcoin with privacy, smart contracts, and more.

Fedi, a technology company focused on building a Fedimint-based community custody platform, is launching a Bitcoin hackathon in celebration of Bitcoin’s 14th birthday. The hackathon will pay out 2.1 BTC to the winner, and is open ended, meaning that developers can code the functionality they want; however, they are incentivized to work on what would drive the most impact.

Fedi has shared some ideas of what those could be, including modules that would enable a communal savings pool to accumulate bitcoin for a large project, storing value in a local currency like dollars, receiving payments privately via static QR codes or links (similar to CLN’s BOLT 12 offers), or operating a communal vote based spending pool.

Fedimint, the platform on which the hackathon will be based, is an open source custody platform that allows users to not only store their bitcoin, but also extend the functionality of their bitcoin with privacy, smart contracts, and more. It is based on the concept of second-party custody, which involves trusting family members or friends with the custody of one’s bitcoin in a way that improves the trust and security models inherent in the classic centralized third-party custody solutions. And it leverages Federated Chaumian Ecash, which means users also gain privacy.

In a nutshell, Fedimint wallets have the potential to bring strong privacy to Bitcoin users with better security than third-party custody setups and more ease of use than fully-fledged self-custody solutions. According to Obi Nwosu, Fedi CEO, “At Fedi, we believe that Fedimint will become the ideal open platform for the delivery of consensus-based applications on the internet. Bitcoin was created to democratize trust, and this hackathon is geared toward exploring what that means in practice.”

The hackathon is open to anyone who is interested in building out a module that would bring real world benefits to users, and the potential rewards are considerable. Developers have the potential to not only win the 2.1 BTC bounty, but also to contribute to a platform that could revolutionize the way people store, use, and interact with Bitcoin. There’s never been a better time to get involved in the cryptocurrency industry, and this hackathon could be the perfect entry point for those looking to take their first steps.