My buddy prints them and sells on Amazon!

https://x.com/apruden08/status/1941195555746742403 X-posting # Bitcoin and the American Experiment: Cryptography as a Foundation for Liberty in the 21st Century Ever since I learned about Bitcoin as a U.S. Army Green Beret deployed to the Middle East, I've always been struck by its deep similarities with the foundational principles of the American republic. My passion for it, therefore, has always felt consistent with my patriotism that led me to join the Army after 9/11. So since it's July 4th, I thought I'd write a few words celebrating Bitcoin as a technology that is the digital embodiment the values that the American Revolution was fought for. Bitcoin is often described as a technology, an implementation of a digital currency enabled by advances in cryptography and decentralized networks. But at its core, Bitcoin and its cryptographic infrastructure mirror the values that shaped America: liberty, consent of the governed, separation of powers, and freedom of speech, and spirit of innovation. ## I. Sovereignty and Liberty The American Revolution was a revolt against arbitrary power, with an assertion that individuals should be free to govern themselves and their property. Similarly, Bitcoin empowers individuals to control their own money without needing permission from banks or governments. Where American settlers once held land titles (on pieces of paper) as symbols of liberty, ownership in Bitcoin is guaranteed by math and cryptography. It is the digital embodiment of the Lockean idea of property rights and self-sovereignty: that what you own, you control. Just as the Founders viewed economic freedom as essential to political freedom, Bitcoin provides a system where value can move freely, uncensored and untaxed unless through due process. It is not anarchy, but a form of voluntary order—an opt-in system rather than one imposed from above. ## II. Consent of the Governed In the American system, legitimacy flows from the people. Government derives its just powers from the consent of the governed. Bitcoin echoes this principle by operating on a decentralized consensus model: no single party can dictate policy. Instead, changes to the protocol must gain majority support from a decentralized network of participants. This includes not only miners, node operators, developers, and users. This bottom-up governance echoes the Federalist vision of distributed power, where no one entity can dominate the system. Moreover, just as the Constitution was designed to resist tyranny by dividing authority, Bitcoin’s consensus rules and open-source transparency limit the ability of any single actor to seize control. The rules are enforced not by coercion, but by cryptographic proofs and economic incentives. Unlike in many countries & fiat currencies, the protocol is incredibly *flexible* in its ability to accommodate (through soft or hard forks) the will of its people. ## III. Separation of Powers James Madison warned that unchecked power leads to tyranny. The American system divides authority among branches to preserve liberty. Bitcoin reflects this logic in its design. Developers may propose code, but they cannot force adoption. Miners secure the network, but they are bound by the rules chosen by nodes. Users, by running full nodes, become the final arbiters of consensus since they ultimately give economic value to the underlying asset. Each actor is incentivized to cooperate while checking the power of the others. The result is a system that evolves cautiously, guided not by fiat but by voluntary coordination. In many ways, it is its own "digital republic." ## IV. Freedom of Speech The First Amendment enshrines the right to free speech, including the right to publish, protest, and communicate without fear of censorship. Bitcoin extends this right into the economic realm. Code is speech—recognized legally in U.S. courts—and Bitcoin’s open-source code is a global form of political expression: a statement that monetary policy can be open, predictable, and censorship-resistant. Just like the American Revolution was required to establish the U.S. as an independent nation-state, a similar battle was fought over the right for individuals to use the same cryptography that powers Bitcoin (the "crypto wars" of the 1990s). That battle was fought by the same cypherpunk clique that created the ideas which led to Bitcoin. Bitcoin transactions themselves are a kind of speech, representing voluntary agreements between parties. In countries where economic activity is surveilled or restricted, Bitcoin offers a way to speak freely with money. In that sense, it is not just a technology—it can become a form of protest, but protected not by philosophical and legal traditions, which often turn out to be fragile, but by forces that fundamentally define and describe the world (physics and math). ## V. Innovation and the American Spirit From the frontier spirit of the West to the space race, America has always embraced bold experimentation. Bitcoin belongs to this lineage. It challenges orthodoxy, proposes a new model of trust, and gives individuals the tools to build alternatives to legacy systems. Like the American experiment itself, it is unfinished, idealistic, and sometimes chaotic—but grounded in the belief that distributed systems of mutual accountability are more just than centralized rule. And just like the U.S. has changed since its founding 249 years ago, Bitcoin continues to evolve. Despite the numerous threats it has faced, despite doubts about its ultimate relevance, despite the repression and censorship of its users, Bitcoin has stood the test of time. And that's because its decentralized nature, while appearing chaotic and dysfunctional on the outside, is ultimately its source of strength and resilience. ⸻ Bitcoin is not a partisan project. It is a protocol—neutral, open, and stubbornly difficult to control. But its design reflects a deep alignment with the philosophical DNA of the United States: liberty, consent, limited power, freedom of expression, and constant effort towards innovation. Just like the values written in the Declaration of Independence, belief in and use of Bitcoin isn't tied to any one ethnic group, geographical region, or religious belief. Bitcoin offers a way for anyone, anywhere, to participate in earning their own liberty and being financially self-sovereign. De Oppreso Liber, or "free the oppressed", is the motto of U.S. Army Special Forces. In a time of rapidly increasing authoritarianism across the world, Bitcoin offers a technical and philosphical means to fight back against authoritarianism and oppression. It is, in its own way, a continuation of the American experiment—and similarly, cannot be taken for granted. 🇺🇸 Happy Birthday, USA. De Oppresso Liber. And long live Bitcoin.

Best based July 4 YouTube explainer? #asknostr

My wife said "get your hat, i'm going to make that face" *me running to fetch* "Wait, actually this looks good on me. Smile"

Would be a huge win. Pedro, dump the weaker fork.

No blood. No foul.

In town Sunday for the week. Can meetup whenever.

Only if the leagues have promotion and relegation.

I run https://shenandoahbitcoin.club lol

I'm in the 757 next week. Chillin at a buddies house in Pungo, but otherwise free to hang. Whats the plan? I want to nerd out with a whiteboard and some code.