BTC Ad Server: Building Consent-Based Advertising on Nostr
block #846257
synopsis
Ian unveils his project: BTC Ad Server — an open-source, decentralized ad network built on Nostr where users opt in to see ads, set their own price for attention, and get paid in Bitcoin. Inspired by the BTC Pay Server documentary "My Trust in You is Broken," Ian pivots from starting a company to writing open-source code. The episode is the fullest articulation of how Nostr is "Internet 2" — solving identity and money, the two problems that caused Internet 1's centralization.
quotes
"I just want to write code." — Ian (echoing BTC Pay Server's creator)
"There's nothing Google can do about this. If this actually worked, the best Google could do... is spin up their own ad server." — Ian
"Fiat debases your attention." — Ian
"We needed Bitcoin to redistribute wealth. Now we have to build a new internet." — Ian
"COVID was peak fiat. They manufactured a global pandemic with unlimited printed money." — Ian
"It's not about the money. It's about making them participate." — Ian on Google eventually joining the Nostr ad network
"If you can figure out how to hack Bitcoin, you're a millionaire." — Ian
"Bitcoin is driving us back towards a world full of city states." — Ian
topics
BTC Ad Server: open-source decentralized ad network on NostrThe origin story: Fountain's promoted episodes, sats-per-minute as content valuationDutch auctions and Google's opaque ad pricingConsent-based advertising: users opt in, set their price, can disconnect anytimeBot prevention via Lightning address whitelisting (KYC domains like Strike)BTC Pay Server documentary as inspiration — "I just want to write code"Nostr as Internet 2: solving identity (npub/nsec) and money (zaps/Lightning)Derek Ross and the Nostr builder communityThe "jackening" — when Jack Dorsey tweeted about NostrGoogle walking past their building: "There's nothing Google can do about this"