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Derek Ross describes Nostr as “the groundwork of a more accessible internet.” To him, Bitcoin enthusiasts who are not utilizing Nostr are losing sight of the core idea. Scrolling through his feed evokes a sense of early 2010s Twitter — “microblogging” was the term back then. However, what Ross forecasts for this transformative communication network transcends far beyond food pictures, travel announcements, and “good morning” wishes. He’s the co-founder of the Grow Nostr Initiative, handles developer relations for Soapbox.pub, and stands out as one of the most active contributors (and zappers!) on social media.
There’s a saying about Nostr and Bitcoin — the orange pill and the purple pill — which I’ve seen him bring up, both on stage and on Nostr, numerous times; “The purple pill aids the orange pill in going down.”
Following the BTCHel Bitcoin conference in Helsinki, Finland, we gathered over breakfast, brimming with post-conference reflections. Ross’ enthusiasm for Nostr radiates, with his passion for the purple pill perfectly complementing the orange. (On the same breakfast table, he had just persuaded Samuel Kullman, MP of the Swiss Canton Bern, to return to Nostr.) Indeed, during the panel he moderated the previous day, he posed a tricky question about Bitcoin and Nostr to Martii Malmi, the Finnish developer who was among the first to have direct correspondence with Satoshi, fully aware of Malmi’s anticipated response:
“Bitcoin signifies freedom of money; Nostr represents freedom of everything else.”
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JB: “The purple pill aids the orange pill in going down.” Explain this phrase and why you frequently say it.
Derek Ross: I believe I picked it up from Cameri back in the day, but it’s become widely popular since. I first posted it on February 24, 2023, and I’ve repeated it multiple times thereafter.
The concept implies that Nostr, the purple pill, is the perfect partner to Bitcoin, the orange pill. I asked Martii this on stage yesterday, knowing he would respond affirmatively. And it’s accurate: You can’t even attain monetary freedom if you lack freedom of communication. Just ponder — if I’m unable to communicate with you freely, how can I pay you? Nostr is the natural complement to Bitcoin.
JB: If this is true, shouldn’t the Venn diagrams of Nostr and Bitcoin be entirely overlapping… or at least all Bitcoin enthusiasts should be on Nostr? Why hasn’t Nostr gained more traction?
Derek Ross: Well, it’s still somewhat buggy and tricky to navigate at times — but numerous excellent applications with a fantastic user interface simplify things significantly.
Nonetheless, every Bitcoiner ought to be on Nostr. People may dislike me for stating this, but it indicates that not everyone in Bitcoin is here for meaningful reasons. They lack the right ethos. They’re here for numerical increases, for green candles, for self-aggrandizement, and wealth… not for liberation. If you truly grasp decentralized currency, why wouldn’t you embrace decentralized communication?
A reason why Twitter or other platforms keep people hooked is that one has established a considerable following there. On Nostr, there’s no algorithm to assist you (or ensnare you); you now must relearn how to engage with your audience. But what’s the issue? We Bitcoiners thrive on proof of work; you built that audience previously, so you can do it again.
But I understand: It’s challenging for some individuals to simply depart from that.
JB: Nonetheless, you can engage on both, like Lyn Alden does.
Derek Ross: Lyn is an outstanding illustration! She sometimes shares entirely different content on Twitter and Nostr; Nostr-Lyn is much more personal and introspective. On Twitter, she posts macroeconomic insights and maintains a professional demeanor, while on Nostr she’s often casual, posting memes and lighthearted content. It’s a beautiful synergy.
Another factor contributing to Nostr’s slower perception and a sense of stagnant zaps there — despite the technology being available now — is that Bitcoin is currently thriving in a bull market. In such a market, everyone is drawn to Bitcoin Twitter. Perhaps Nostr and Bitcoin are inversely related: Nostr thrives in a bear market when Bitcoin is in a bull market — and next time Bitcoin enters a bear market, Nostr will likely flourish!
JB: Share your background with me, how did you discover Nostr?
I’m not exactly a coder… well, to the average observer, I might be, but I consider myself primarily a systems administrator: I manage systems and applications — I don’t engineer full applications. However, now, owing to vibe coding, I am: I have some makeshift skills, and I’ve always aspired to develop on Bitcoin. Establishing Nostr Plebs, the initial Nostr business, permitted me to realize my aspiration of building with Bitcoin. I was the pioneer in establishing a Nostr enterprise and am capable of putting components together.
I first became aware of Nostr through Jack Dorsey’s tweet from December 2022, calling out to developers on how to resolve social media issues.
I continued posting and zapping and creating, and eventually received an invitation to Baltic Honey Badger in 2023; I utilized Nostr to crowdsource my travel costs. Essentially, if the community desires me to attend and speak about Nostr, zap this post. I had never traveled to Europe but had always yearned to do so, so it was thrilling. (The title of that presentation? You guessed it: “The purple pill aids the orange pill in going down.”)
Nostr has completely transformed my social media use: Amethyst is the first application I open in the morning.
JB: Are you concerned that Jack Dorsey is financing developers and contributing the majority of the funding for this domain? A centralization issue?
No, Jack recognizes the significance of what Nostr is achieving. In the future, when it potentially grows larger and alternative options for funding and revenue arise, the investment might diminish.
However, upon reflection, it’s an excellent application of Jack’s resources.
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