tylerkstevens on Nostr: Last evening's DenverBitDevs meetup and presentation from Start9 was a a highlight of ...
Last evening's DenverBitDevs meetup and presentation from Start9 (npub126n…e9ll) was a a highlight of the year for me. Thoughts below👇
We were joined by MattHill (npub1j87…3hzx), CEO of Start9, where he gave a presentation on running #bitcoin and #lightning nodes as well as the importance of sovereign computing.
Here are some of my key takeaways as a novice to the topics:
Running a Bitcoin Node:
- Transacting on your personally run bitcoin node asserts your citizenship on the network.
- Participating in transactions gives you leverage as an enforcer of the bitcoin census rules.
- Running your own node ensures your untampered access to the bitcoin network. You do not need to worry about a wallet software hiding or falsifying transactions on your addresses.
Running a Lightning Node:
- Without running your own lightning node, you are relying on the channel not being closed. This trust dynamic is exactly what bitcoiners seek to avoid. We want to eliminate trusted intermediaries. Not make it slightly better than your fiatbank.
- Running a personal lightning node is paramount to financial sovereignty and privacy.
Sovereign Computing and Personal Servers:
- There are two business models for monetizing software. Monthly Subscription models (paid services), and Data Farming (sell your information to advertisers and service is free). As privacy becomes increasingly important to consumers, more apps on your phone and computer will pivot to subscription based models. This is a good thing. The "cost" is transparent and up front.
- Data can be monetized. Your pictures and files are of little value by themselves, but when compiled amongst millions of users, the value of that data set adds up. This creates a honeypot that some deem worth attacking for access (think lastpass, google drive, iCloud, etc...).
- Hacking these honeypots is way easier than you'd think. It's not about cracking the newest standard in encryption or finding a backdoor. Instead, it's about convincing someone internal to the company with high level permissions to give over the keys. The human in the loop is the weakest link. It's only a matter of time until that link is compromised.
- Running your own home server is a way to opt out of the honeypot. The risk reward dynamic is now changed. A potential attacker has just as much to lose by breaking into your home to steal your data, but your personal files alone are of little value to them. It's no longer worth it.
- Additionally, running your own home server provides privacy. Your files are stored in your local cloud, and no middle man can observe your data or actions. No one even knows when you do something!
StartOS is software aimed to make running a personal server as easy as possible for as many people as possible. It's clear they envision a world where personal responsibility is extrapolated to our digital personas. I agree, it is a necessary step to being a sovereign individual in the twenty first century.
I am eager to play around with the software and learn along the way. Thanks again to everyone at Start9 and the Denver BitDevs community, as well as Zach (BTCBap on X) for organizing the event.
Let me know your thoughts below. Hopefully I summarized the technical details correctly. The full recording of Matt Hill's discussion will be posted to the Denver BitDevs YouTube channel shortly!
We were joined by MattHill (npub1j87…3hzx), CEO of Start9, where he gave a presentation on running #bitcoin and #lightning nodes as well as the importance of sovereign computing.
Here are some of my key takeaways as a novice to the topics:
Running a Bitcoin Node:
- Transacting on your personally run bitcoin node asserts your citizenship on the network.
- Participating in transactions gives you leverage as an enforcer of the bitcoin census rules.
- Running your own node ensures your untampered access to the bitcoin network. You do not need to worry about a wallet software hiding or falsifying transactions on your addresses.
Running a Lightning Node:
- Without running your own lightning node, you are relying on the channel not being closed. This trust dynamic is exactly what bitcoiners seek to avoid. We want to eliminate trusted intermediaries. Not make it slightly better than your fiatbank.
- Running a personal lightning node is paramount to financial sovereignty and privacy.
Sovereign Computing and Personal Servers:
- There are two business models for monetizing software. Monthly Subscription models (paid services), and Data Farming (sell your information to advertisers and service is free). As privacy becomes increasingly important to consumers, more apps on your phone and computer will pivot to subscription based models. This is a good thing. The "cost" is transparent and up front.
- Data can be monetized. Your pictures and files are of little value by themselves, but when compiled amongst millions of users, the value of that data set adds up. This creates a honeypot that some deem worth attacking for access (think lastpass, google drive, iCloud, etc...).
- Hacking these honeypots is way easier than you'd think. It's not about cracking the newest standard in encryption or finding a backdoor. Instead, it's about convincing someone internal to the company with high level permissions to give over the keys. The human in the loop is the weakest link. It's only a matter of time until that link is compromised.
- Running your own home server is a way to opt out of the honeypot. The risk reward dynamic is now changed. A potential attacker has just as much to lose by breaking into your home to steal your data, but your personal files alone are of little value to them. It's no longer worth it.
- Additionally, running your own home server provides privacy. Your files are stored in your local cloud, and no middle man can observe your data or actions. No one even knows when you do something!
StartOS is software aimed to make running a personal server as easy as possible for as many people as possible. It's clear they envision a world where personal responsibility is extrapolated to our digital personas. I agree, it is a necessary step to being a sovereign individual in the twenty first century.
I am eager to play around with the software and learn along the way. Thanks again to everyone at Start9 and the Denver BitDevs community, as well as Zach (BTCBap on X) for organizing the event.
Let me know your thoughts below. Hopefully I summarized the technical details correctly. The full recording of Matt Hill's discussion will be posted to the Denver BitDevs YouTube channel shortly!