TD₿: Nation-States Buying Bitcoin: Boom or Doom for Freedom? - (a Swan Signal Live video segment) with Lyn Alden and Ben Werkman
TL;DR: As institutions and nations embrace Bitcoin, is the world’s hardest money at risk of losing its cypherpunk roots? Explore how mainstream adoption could shape Bitcoin’s future.
Hey Bitcoiners,
Bitcoin’s culture, rooted in cypherpunk ideals, is facing a shift as institutional and nation-state adoption accelerates. While early adopters prioritized principles like decentralization and self-sovereignty, the mainstream entrance of ETFs and financial institutions has pushed Bitcoin further into financialization.
Some fear that this shift dilutes Bitcoin’s original ethos, but others argue that greater liquidity, reduced volatility, and wider adoption ultimately strengthen its role as a tool for freedom. Rather than being “captured,” Lyn explains how Bitcoin is simply being recognized by the fiat system for its inherent value, and its success was always bound to pass through institutional hands.
The key to preserving Bitcoin’s original mission lies in ensuring that its core principles—self-sovereignty, decentralization, and censorship resistance—remain embedded in its protocol. While institutions and profit-seekers enter the space, Bitcoiners must continue spreading its cypherpunk ethos and ensuring it is not co-opted by the very system it was designed to challenge.
Bitcoin’s success doesn’t mean its fight is over; it means the fight has entered a new phase. The biggest risk isn’t institutional adoption—it’s Bitcoiners forgetting why Bitcoin was created in the first place.
Tick tock next block,
The Swan Education Team
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Quote of the Day
“The Tao of Bitcoin is not understanding Bitcoin, it is accepting that Bitcoin is what it is.”
- Jameson Lopp
Job of the Day
Smart Contract Engineer - Language Design/Tooling/Ecosystem (Rust Expertise)
Anywhere / Remote only / Full Time
Research & Analysis
Blockstream was founded in 2014 by Dr. Adam Back and a group of fellow cryptographers and engineers who were passionate about Bitcoin and its potential to change the future of finance. Focusing on building fundamental Bitcoin infrastructure, Blockstream quickly became one of the industry's leading technology powerhouses.
We are making Bitcoin smart contracts more powerful, expressive, and verifiable.
Simfony is the frontend to Simplicity, a next-generation alternative to Bitcoin Script that enables advanced contract logic while maintaining security and efficiency. Blockstream Research is hiring a Research Engineer with deep Bitcoin and Rust expertise to build and deploy Simfony on the Liquid Blockchain
What You Will Be Doing (Responsibilities)
Own Simfony’s Rust-based language development. You will work on building, improving, and refining Simfony as a smart contract language.
Implement smart contracts. You’ll recreate existing Bitcoin Script functionality in Simfony and extend functionality using Simplicity, making contracts more expressive and powerful.
Collaborate with a small team inside of Blockstream Research to help shape developer use of Simplicity, and its integration into Bitcoin sidechains.
Develop, test, and deploy Simfony contracts on Liquid. You’ll explore how Simfony integrates with Bitcoin’s Layer 2 solutions, including Elements and potential future platforms.
Work on security and efficiency. You’ll help optimize Simfony contracts for performance and security.
Write documentation and educational material. As Simfony grows, developers will need clear examples, tutorials, and best practices to build with confidence.
What We Look For In You (Required Qualifications)
Expertise in Rust.
Deep understanding of Bitcoin’s scripting model. You have a strong knowledge of Bitcoin Script, Taproot, Schnorr signatures, SegWit, Miniscript, and Confidential Transactions.
Experience with smart contract development, time-locked contracts (HTLCs, vaults, inheritance-based transfers), multi-signature setups, or covenant-based mechanisms.
Comfortable working with Bitcoin’s developer tooling. Experience with Bitcoin Core, CLI tools, test environments (Testnet, Regtest), and security testing tools like fuzz testing.
Problem solver. You enjoy tackling difficult programming challenges and designing creative solutions for complex problems.
A builder’s mindset. You don’t just write code, you design systems that solve real problems.
Clear communicator. You can explain complex technical ideas simply, write thorough documentation, and work well with a team.
Comfortable with an education component. At least X% of this role involves documentation, teaching, and developer advocacy, helping others understand and build with Simfony.
Nice To Haves (Preferred Qualifications)
Degree in a relevant field, such as Computer Science, Software Engineering, or a related field.
Strong grasp of WebAssembly (WASM). Experience working with low-level execution environments or blockchain virtual machines is helpful.
Familiarity with other blockchain ecosystems and smart contract platforms. You know about Ethereum (Solidity), Web3, DeFi, DAOs, Bridges, and Oracles, and understand the use cases people are seeking.
Experience using and deploying production-grade smart contracts. You’ve seen the challenges, MEV risks, DoS attacks, and syntax errors.
Experience in Haskell, or other functional languages is a plus.
Knowledge of alternative smart contract paradigms. Familiarity with ZK-proofs, rollups, or novel execution models is a plus.
Familiarity with low-level cryptographic libraries. Understanding elliptic curve cryptography, signature schemes, and hash-based cryptographic structures can be beneficial.
Not your particular skill set? Check out all the Bitcoin Jobs at bitcoinerjobs.com.
In the Headlines
Swan Shortie of the Day
Event of the Day
BitBlockBoom 2025
Dates: April 3rd-6th, 2025
Location: Dallas, Texas
Tickets: Available for purchase here.
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Why You Need to Be at BitBlockBoom 2025
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Who Should Attend?
BitBlockBoom is designed for Bitcoin professionals, institutional investors, entrepreneurs, policymakers, and developers who recognize Bitcoin’s fundamental role in global finance and monetary sovereignty.
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The Future of Bitcoin Starts Here
BitBlockBoom 2025 is not just an event—it is the epicenter of Bitcoin thought leadership, where the brightest minds converge to discuss, strategize, and accelerate Bitcoin’s mainstream adoption. If you are serious about Bitcoin’s future and want to position yourself at the forefront of this financial revolution, this is the event you cannot afford to miss.
Meme of the Day
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