Alex Pilkington

Correct.

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Blaming the Protocol: Why Critics Miss the Point on Crypto | AlxPilk This piece analyzes Finn Brunton's recent New York Times critique against cryptocurrency, arguing that he commits a fundamental category error. This piece first deconstructs the rhetorical frames used...

In short, the article critiques the disease (human corruption, political capture) but blames the medicine (a protocol for mitigating that trust).
A full breakdown of this "category error," separating the protocol from the persona, is in the full essay.

alxpilk.me/blaming-the-...

[End 🧵: 11/11]

The freedom Szabo sought wasn't a nerd-warlord autocracy.
He called it social scalability: the ability for strangers to cooperate and transact globally without needing to trust a central boss, politician, or bank.
A neutral tool for commerce, not a weapon for a king.
#SocialScalability #DeFi [10/11]

So, that $TRUMP memecoin gala? It's not crypto's "ascension"—it's its antithesis.
A memecoin is a 100% centralized, personality-driven, trust-based token. It's the opposite of Szabo's "bit gold," which was designed to be politically neutral and trust-minimized.
#BTC vs #Memecoins [9/11]

The NYT article is, ironically, just an exhaustive list of trusted third parties failing.
SBF, Justin Sun, and political operators aren't examples of the protocol. They are the "security holes" Szabo was trying to design around.
#FTX #SBF #Binance [8/11]

"Trusted third parties are security holes."
Szabo argued that human-run institutions (banks, governments, C-suites, politicians) are the primary vulnerability in any system. They are susceptible to corruption, error, coercion, and incompetence.
#TrustMinimization #Security #Bitcoin [7/11]

To see why, we have to look at the actual first principles.
Enter Nick Szabo, the computer scientist who designed "bit gold" (Bitcoin's precursor) and "smart contracts" in the 90s.
His entire philosophy is built on one, crucial idea...
#NickSzabo #BitGold #Web3 [6/11]

The final (and most uncharitable) frame: The article claims this political capture isn't a failure or co-option of crypto's goals.
It argues this was the intended fulfillment of its "darkest potential."
This is where the core "category error" lies.
#CryptoNews #Politics [5/11]

The article then attacks crypto's ideological roots, reducing libertarianism to a "clown show" of its most extreme, socially toxic fringe positions.
This strawman is used to paint crypto's very DNA as "corrupt" from the start.
#Libertarianism #MediaCritique [4/11]

This opening is a deliberate rhetorical frame: Guilt by Association.
Before any tech is discussed, crypto is immediately and irrevocably tied to political polarization and figures under investigation for financial crimes.
It's an effective way to taint the entire subject from line one. [3/11]

The lede is a gala at Trump's club, attended by figures like Justin Sun and fueled by $TRUMP memecoin.
The author frames this as crypto's ascension to the apex of American power. But what is this scene actually showing? Is this the tech, or just politics as usual?
#Crypto #Trump #Memecoin [2/11]

A new NYT article by Finn Brunton titled "Crypto is the most successful libertarian project in American history" argues it's a tool for autocracy.
It's a powerful narrative, but it's based on a fundamental category error.
It fatally confuses the protocol with the persona. 🧵[1/11]

Is ‘thirst trap’ a Halloween costume?

Thank you, I’m going to read it tonight 😊

Finishing up Steven Pinker’s book on common knowledge and he also uses the Tower of Babel metaphor in his concluding analysis

But yes, my thread was not exactly charitable or good faith. Thank you for checking me on it Travis.

300 characters are a terrible constraint on nuance and deep analysis - and I’m sure there’s plenty of examples where trans youth who receive treatment for their dysphoria results in more positive life experiences.

This thread is certainly a frustration at Wired’s framing of a complex issue.

You’re right that ‘mutilation’ is a particularly harsh way to frame it. It’s been the dominant by reactionaries who are intent at policing other people’s bodies.

I think there’s something to be argued about the contagion of trans/nb identities within people who don’t experience gender dysphoria.

6/6

What’s the connecting thread? Both epidemics trace to media that hijacks desire, promising transcendence through excess until bodies break. Porn turned sex into suicide; social media turns awkward puberty into mutilation.

5/6
Policy fallout.
Sweden, Finland, Norway halted pediatric blockers/mastectomies. UK: NHS restricts puberty suppression to trials. US: self-ID + no-dysphoria entry → blockers for kindergartners, double mastectomies for teens.

4/6
Contagion mechanics.
TikTok/IG algorithms push “egg_irl” memes, friend-group clusters mirror anorexia Tumblr (2010s) or 19th-century hysteria wards. Cass Review (2024): zero high-quality evidence for youth affirmation; social transition strongest predictor of medicalization.

3/6
Trans/NB surge.
Pre-2010: gender dysphoria ~0.01%, 80–90% childhood-onset males, 80–90% desistance by adulthood.
Post-2015: 20–30% of students in some elite girls’ schools ID as trans/NB—almost all adolescent females, no prior dysphoria. #nonbinary: billions of TikTok views.

2/6
AIDS & porn.
By 1982, urban gay subcultures averaged 500–1,000 lifetime partners; bathhouses logged thousands of anonymous contacts nightly. Porn glorified acts that maximized HIV transmission. Safe-sex messaging was mocked as prudish. Result: >100k US deaths by 1995, mostly young gay men.

🧵1/6
Claim: “Porn didn’t worsen AIDS” and “social media isn’t fueling non-dysphoric trans/NB identities.”
Both are empirically false. Thread.

New podcast episode! We talk with street artist Jeremy Novy about his new "global gay street art exhibit" for Palm Springs Pride. We also cover his new rainbow projects in Milwaukee, Texas, and New Orleans.

Listen now at GayPHX.com

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Liberalism Is a Bold Force That Ends Corrupt, Oppressive, and Arbitrary Hierarchies It doesn't defend the status quo, it upends it

Liberalism used to be a fighting faith that dismantled feudalism, abolished hereditary privilege, and fueled revolutions that replaced empires with republics. It expanded suffrage, ended slavery, and empowered movements for women's rights and civil rights.

It’s a good morning for a run