markjgsmith

2024/04/28 #

• From the most recent newsletter: "This might be some of the best software user feedback I’ve ever heard".

  I wrote this referencing a recent Citadel Dispatch episode with Anna Chekovich. Her feedback about real world cross border usage was particularly insightful. But there's something else worth mentioning.

  It occurred to me this morning that there's another reason it's a great episode when it comes to software development: Matt Odell. At this stage I've listenned to a lot of episodes with him leading the discussions around very technical topics, the conversations aren't forced, they meander a bit, with some enjoyable banter, but they don't shy away from getting into the nitty gritty. He's able to put users at ease, dispite language differences and push towards finding solutions to real world problems.

  As a software developer myself, these sorts of interactions are really facinating. It's not that easy to do the user feedback dance, and Matt's pretty darn good at it. #

• The last few issues of the TLDR Crypto newsletter have been awesome, so many articles I want to read. Really great selection. Just wanted to mention them here because likely many of the links on the linkblog this week will be via them. #

• cat << EOF > Crypto on Stripe

  I've spent quite a lot of time building payment and subscription systems using Stripe. Initially for my linkblog SaaS, but also for my personal website. Overall I like it. The API is well documented and pretty easy to understand. The backend admin interface is tidy, ergonomic and easy to use, and it's got many developer friendly info screens that make it easier to debug issues. I'm pretty confident I could build most billing systems using Stripe.

  My main gripe is that during a redesign of my SaaS' billing system, that I was forced into because of new government regulation, things got a bit sketchy. They had to reshape their API adding lots of new endpoints and some new products. When I started using them it became clear that there were things that weren't very well documented, with example code that didn't work. The support team, who had been until then really great got a bit difficult and I ended up wasting nearly a month for no good reason.

  It felt like I was beta testing their software at my own cost, and when it didn't work, I got blamed. This is a re-occuring pattern by the way, same exact thing has happened to me with several other companies. In this case it was quite a big contributing factor to running out of runway, and having to shutdown my project. The timing couldn't have been worse. I finished the project, with everything fully functional, only to have to shut it all down.

  So even though I like Stripe, and I know the government regulation stuff wasn't entirely their fault, I'm now much more apprehensive.

  All that said, I think it's great news that Stripe has finally added crypto payments. They apparently did previously support Bitcoin but removed it, sighting volatility as the main reason.

  They describe their latest crypto feature as follows:

  It will start this Summer with USDC on Solana, Ethereum, and Polygon, showing a demo of crypto payments using Solana at their developer conference

  I clearly need to read more about how these other blockchains and stable coins work. I don’t fully get it. I have lots of questions.

  • How can the same coin be available on multiple different chains?
  • Can you have Bitcoin on Etherium?
  • Or is just stable coins that can be on multiple chains?
  • What do you do with the USDC once you recieve it?
  • Can you withdraw directly to exchanges as well as self hosted wallets?

  The big thing I'm waiting for is to be able to receive payments using Bitcoin. That really would be cool. No word on that yet though.

  EOF

Today’s links:

• Airdrop Farming 101: What Is It and How Do You Get Started? - I've been wondering what this was fir a while. Basically it's finding crypto projects early before they issue a coin, getting involved, in the hope of being sent free or nearly free coins when the project goes live. Sounds a lot like beta testers. rankfi.com #

• Bitcoin Mining Decentralization ‘Not Great,’ Says Ordinals Creator - An investigation revealed that many mining pools have been flat out lying to miners, and miners, who decide on which transactions get into a bkock, were totally unnaware that their pools were actually just proxies for the same large mining pool. Currently 1 large mining pool handles 50% of all transactions. Miners have been reluctant to upgrade to a version which fixes the issue. Maybe they don't want to bite the hand that feeds them? Others blame the miners, speaking of 'the nuclear' option where the bitcoin community could change the algorithm in such a way as to put all current miners out of business, so a fresh cohort of miners that are willing to run the new version turn up. There's more detailed info in a recent TFTC podcast. On the whole quite bearish. Feels like it could result in quite a bit of a traffic jam. Also wouldn't the existence of a nuclear option cause some to conclude that ultimately the miners don't decide, even if that's what the marketing departments say? unchainedcrypto.com #

• Bitcoin Mining Decentralization ‘Not Great,’ Says Ordinals Creator - Seems like this is way overdue. It will be even better when they start supporting other more popular coins like Bitcoin and Etherium. techcrunch.com #

• Istanbul, Dalaman, Izmir: Where to go with Türkiye’s new digital nomad visa - There isn't a huge amount of information in the article, but nice to see more digital nomad visas. It can be used by 21-55 year olds, requires some documentation to be uploaded, after which you can get the visa at a local embassy. Worth making sure you have backup plans for banklessly procuring things like laptops and key gear you rely on before embarking on such adventures. www.euronews.com #

• The rise of booze-free backpacking: why gen Z are choosing to travel sober - Gen Zers are apparently much more risk averse. Drinking is not seen as being very cool anymore. www.theguardian.com #

• New Post: Crypto on Stripe markjgsmith.com #