markjgsmith

Regulators as secret crypto shills

Another half baked mid-week observation for you. Maybe it will spark some ideas even if it isn't articulted in the most elegant way.

The way things are built in the crypto space is sort of interesting, even if it's a bit worrying, because it can lead to all sorts of scamy behaviour. Contenders for new layer 1s start out as personality or meme coins. This is to get some traction and money flowing through the network. The developers then attempt to add much needed core features like security and decentralisation amoung others. If they don't succeed they can always turn the project into a layer 2.

The point is the process is very difficult, fraught with difficulties, but can result in robust software. That software tends to be relatively well suited to building protocols, which can be used by many.

This is in contrast to how software is typically build for more traditional web companies. These tend to favour centralisation and don't tend to be conducive to creating open protocols.

It occurred to me that in a way the US and EU regulators that are trying to impose laws to curb tech giants are basically imposing a specific development philosophy onto companies. Their focus is on curbing monopolistic behaviour, rather than say decentralisation, or censorship resistance.

I wonder if it's the case that eventually they will be imposing crypto style architectures and protocols. The certainly don't seem to be down with traditional web businesses at the minute.

How ironic that they don't allow crypto then, when in a way, these are perhaps the companies that are trying hardest to be the most fair to participants. At least that's the case for the layer 1s. #

What would bitcoiners do? - With all the regulatory issues Apple is up against about it's software it's worth considering what development methodologies we want people to use. Is it still ok to build software that's good enough, or does everything have to be solved from first principles now?

What would an app store built by bitcoiners look like? What would it's layer 0 look like? #

Illness update - I'm still feeling relatively okay this evening. This morning I did wake up early and coughed up a small bit of flem, but the rest of the day no couging or flem, lungs feel mostly normal.

So that's all great, almost 3 days since I finished the antibiotics and I can't feel any symptoms returning. Or at least direct symptoms. One thing I have noticed since I stopped the antibiotics both my ankles have swollen up slighlty.

That's worrying because when I was ill, the ankles got very swollen, to the point where it was difficult to walk. I had a theory it was due to liquid from the lungs accumulating in the ankles, but my lungs don't feel like they are full of anything. Like I said, they feel okay.

Maybe it's a side effect of the antibiotics and it will pass. Or perhaps it's just related to activity. I did quite a lot of walking today.

Anyway that's the update. Feeling alright but worried I'm not out of the woods yet. #

Masks are dumb - I imagine this will be unpopular but anyway needs to be said. There's nothing like a lung infection, and 3 months of flem vomming, to make you paranoid about air quality. So I bought one of these specialist disposable masks that everyone is wearing. One of the tight fit ones. Until now I had a cloth mask that I washed.

Well one thing that was immediately obvious was how innefective the mask actually is. It only really works if you press it down at the top of your nose. Otherwise when you inhale, 90% of the air just comes in around the side of the mask. So you end up inhaling the anbient air anyway. It's dumb.

I don't get it. Why is everyone wearing these stupid masks if they don't filter the air? #