Rather than confronting the state or waiting for territorial escape, strong individuals build a second realm that operates alongside the first.

Think about how insane this would sound in any other context. “I really loved that meal, but I’m not tipping the waiter because this $5 could be worth $50 if I invest it properly.” Or “Great haircut, but I’m going to skip paying because this $40 might appreciate if I put it in index funds.” How about “Thanks for the coffee, but technically this $6 could compound over 30 years, so I’m gonna need this one for free.”

We’d rightfully call this person a cheapskate with delusions of being a financial strategist. Yet this is EXACTLY the logic we use with zaps.

The mental gymnastics are wild. “These 1,000 sats might be worth $10 someday, so I better hold onto them,” but that post you just read and screenshot? That idea you’re about to use in your own work? That moment of entertainment or insight? That’s worth $0 right now in your mental ledger.

The more a culture encourages tolerant public debate, what today we would likely broaden to “conceptual reasoning”, experimentation, and entrepreneurship, the more likely its constituents are to generate worthwhile industrial advances that give more tools to more people and ultimately benefit everybody.

The more a culture encourages tolerant public debate, what today we would likely broaden to “conceptual reasoning”, experimentation, and entrepreneurship, the more likely its constituents are to generate worthwhile industrial advances that give more tools to more people and ultimately benefit everybody.

A match made in heaven: a currency based on energy, with no central bank... and a protocol based on reputation, with no central authority.