A few days have passed since we attended the largest Nostr Conference in the world. With this article, we intend to summarize some of the most interesting outcomes and learnings of this event.
Nostrica in Costa Rica
The event was held in Uvita, Puntarenas, near the beaches of the Ballena Marine Park. Many people wondered why Costa Rica if it is not a very common destination to host technological innovation events such as this one. Basically, the country has become the home base of many key people in the world of decentralization. Costa Rica is a destination full of good vibes, the ‘Pura Vida’ embraces locals and foreigners, and that is precisely what captivated personalities like Jack Dorsey, who also resides on the Pacific coast of Guanacaste, in convincing the Bitcoin and Nostr community to hold the event in this place, which by the way was funded by their charity and interest.
Currently, there are several organized communities within the decentralization ecosystem in Costa Rica, including Bitcoin. There are no specific leaders, but there are certain groups or companies, such as Edenia that run Bitcoin nodes and retail terminals, which we are interested in building and have been gathering efforts to bring the message and adoption to the people. In this particular case the group “Bitcoin Jungle CR,” who have been offering their app for some time now to transact with Lightning network, were part of the co-organizers of the conference along with a delegation initiative of Nostr. And that’s right, Nostr + Costa Rica = Nostrica.
Day 1 — Transcending with Nostr
On Sunday, March 19th the activities began with a yoga class and breakfast at the Awake Common Center, the conference venue. The good vibes and the peace of sharing with nature was an idea that prevailed throughout the event and even in the extra activities after the lectures, thus transmitting the Pura Vida. Fundamental themes were covered that provided the basis for the whole event and of course for a better understanding of Nostr.
What is Nostr and why is it important?
The name is an acronym of “Notes and Other Things Transmitted by Relays”, translated from English to Spanish. Essentially, it enables users to transmit information of all kinds. The Nostr client facilitates access to a pair of public and private keys. Nostr’s service is open-source and free and allows users to share information or interact, with the potential to become a powerful tool to help promote Human Rights.
Nostr clients
During this day several leaders of various client initiatives presented their projects. The adoption of Nostr has seen better growth in mobile platforms. Some of the representatives of these dApps were:
Day 2 — Expanding with Nostr
After understanding the fundamental concepts and how Nostr can change the world, by Monday we all officially felt like “Plebs” (as Nostr users are known in the community). Conversations focused on knowledge-sharing and applications where the protocol can be applied, including that this protocol does not have a business model yet. One word stood out throughout the day and that was “microservices’’.
Microservices for Nostr
As it is known in software, microservices are independent additions to the code base, likewise posed for this protocol. Adoption can come with more and better microservices, turning a client into a super-app.
Currently, depending on the Nostr client there are more or fewer microservices from the simplest to the most complex, which include: Zapps (Give tips using Lightning), Giphys, or embeds for Spotify or Apple Music.
Human-readable names: NIP-05
Anyone can have an account in Nostr, however, sharing the public key with everyone is not convenient. For this reason, and as many other protocols have it, a standard has been developed to convert the npub into a human-readable address. Currently, there are two ways to get one, by means of a Web-hoster that has infrastructure for Nostr or the same user that has this instance and generates it.
Day 3 — Shining with Nostr
On Tuesday and after a long weekend filled with networking opportunities and a lot of knowledge, the event’s priority became the active participation of attendees. Most of the spaces were open Socratic or team building. Above all, the event organizers wanted to get the message across at the end of the day with images of the panels of everyone involved, including personalities such as Samson Mow, Jack Dorsey, or “fiatjaf” the creator of the Nostr protocol. The next Nostr conference is not yet defined where and when exactly it will be, but it will surely be as or more epic than this adventure.
Rewards for contributing to Nostr
At bounstr.org anyone interested can post an idea for an improvement or add a new feature. It can be seen as if it were a grant, where you place the idea and why (in a brief way) through a GitHub issue, and then it will be uploaded as a new bounty within that site. Users can handle these tasks and get paid with Bitcoin.
Other important takeaways…
1. There are VCs interested in the protocol:
During the conference, there were several representatives of venture capital funds that stated that there is interest from these entities in financing innovations in Nostr or using it, which is a great step for the development of new projects.
2. Nostr is a tool that can promote Human Rights:
The decentralization implied by Nostr makes it less vulnerable to censorship. In countries where it is difficult for people to denounce or broadcast, using Nostr clients is open and inclusive to these groups. This is why it can represent a tool for sovereignty and peace.
3. Decentralization does not always need blockchain:
Although the latter has been widely used to decentralize processes and systems, there are other tools and methodologies that can also achieve this goal. It is important to explore and understand these alternatives to choose the best option according to the specific needs of each case.
4. Open-source has a long way to go:
This technology has made significant progress in recent years, but there is still a long way to go. Although many companies and organizations have adopted the use of open-source software, there are still obstacles in terms of mass adoption and financial sustainability of projects. It is necessary to continue working on the promotion and dissemination of open-source software and on the development of sustainable business models that allow its growth and evolution.
Follow us on Nostr: npub1fa3szscj2d64m48j2znjv4waprjduvp40mn07ehk3dn90a7pfjsqqvkpuf
About Us
Edenia runs independent blockchain infrastructure and develops web3 solutions. Our team of technology-agnostic builders has been operating since 1987, leveraging the newest technologies to make the internet safer, more efficient, and more transparent. Contact Us
Follow us on social media:
Written by: Leonardo Calderón (Nostr: npub1yp4pyexgn68jjd270ync96pu5c3nrj3awqtfxf7tx9ghrd98eckqmexdsp)
