Margot Paez
@jyn_urso
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Climate change physicist and admirer of heterodox economics. I have crazy ideas about bitcoin. Tweets are my own, not my employer's. Climatepunks use bitcoin.
Joined March 2008
Too much of our effort on climate change is spent mourning the death of our future. We can still have a future and we should still dream of what it can be. If we accept doom, then that’s what we’ll get. Yes, we need transformative change to get there, but first we need vision.
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No, we are not changing the code, @Greenpeace. I am a climate activist and climate change researcher, bitcoin stays on PoW. DM if you want a serious conversation about this.
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The latest attack on bitcoin makes it clear: Bitcoin is a threat to the existing financial system and its benefactors are using climate NGOs to do their dirty work. @Ripple CEO has teamed with @Greenpeace to play on emotions of people who care about the climate. This is wrong. 1/.
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@nsfwbunny143 @ramoumaaa I’m a “high functioning” autistic person and I do not act that way. That’s just bad acting.
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I'm old enough to remember when bitcoiners were about separation of money and state, not for the consolidation of bitcoin and state.
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Elizabeth Warren is a career liar. 1. Lied about being Native American. 2. Lied about Bernie being sexist. 3. Lied about wanting to take down the big banks that caused the Great Financial Crisis. The only thing Warren cares about is holding onto power at any cost. She wants to.
Crypto companies are spending millions building an army of former defense and law enforcement officials to lobby against new rules shutting down crypto-financed terrorism. This revolving door boosts the crypto industry, but endangers our national security.
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Climate change is the greatest crisis that humanity has faced. Blaming Bitcoin's PoW instead of the existing financial system and their addiction to fossil fuels is missing the forest for the trees. I'm calling out @Greenpeace for being complicit in this climate denialism. 2/.
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I may have just shouted, “buy bitcoin” at family having a discussion about bailing out banks.
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People who say Bitcoin mining wastes energy are so misinformed and at risk of harming our chance at an accelerated energy transition. It is my mission to change this narrative. A new article coming soon. Please stay tuned!.
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It’s official. I am taking an extended leave from Georgia Tech to focus on bitcoin and the environment related research. …This also means I need a job. Please share this with bitcoiners who are hiring, DM to talk. *Please RT*! 🙏 . 🧵 highlighting my background 👇🏽.
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PoS is the existing system. It makes it easy for the wealthiest to make decisions. @Greenpeace, If we are serious about environmental justice, then we must begin with economic fairness. PoW is the only protocol that guarantees this. PoS is not our friend in this fight. /end.
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By the end of this year, I will have attended 12 or so bitcoin events for 2024. These have been great experiences but they have also shown me that at conferences, bitcoin appears as tho it is mostly for straight white men. Yet, we know that this isn’t true when we look at the.
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Together, they have a new website that promotes outright lies and debunked studies to push this climate whataboutism. In the following tweets, I will go point-by-point and show how wrong @Greenpeace is to make this devil's bargain with the very enemies we must defeat. 3/.
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"Recent estimates show Bitcoin uses more electricity than all of Sweden.". Bitcoin a global monetary network. It secures close to 1 trillion USD. It provides a way for the most vulnerable people to protect their hard earned earnings from dictators and hyperinflation. 4/.
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Today, I am challenging @AlexEpstein to a debate at the upcoming @pacificbitcoin conference. Bitcoiners are not a homogeneous group. Many of us disagree with his slick climate denial thesis. What do you say, Alex?. CC: @coryklippsten @CitizenBitcoin.
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It is not time for bitcoin to change. It is time for Greenpeace to change and stop colluding with the very banking system that funds rising emissions and anthropogenic climate change. Greenpeace should look up the Enterprise Ethereum Alliance members. Hypocrites.
The long-awaited #EthereumMerge is here: the world’s 2nd largest cryptocurrency now uses 99.95% less energy, dramatically cutting its climate pollution!. Now it’s time for @Bitcoin to change. Read our statement with @CleanUpBitcoin:.
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Furthermore, bitcoin's current electricity use is 0.5% of the total global electricity consumption. How much energy does the US use to protect its global monetary interests? 6/.
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My PhD advisor just told me that bitcoin is a "paranormal network of illegal activity" and one of his students is one day going to be handcuffed and carried away by the FBI. 🤣.
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It provides a payment platform that exists outside the financial system, so when activists are debanked (as Greenpeace activists have been in India), they can use bitcoin as a last resort. 5/.
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Bitcoin is such a cool technology. I wish more people could see it for what it is.
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They wrote, "we argue that the Mora et al. scenarios are fundamentally flawed and should not be taken seriously by researchers, policymakers, or.the public." (Masanet, et al, 2019) Why is @Greenpeace promoting this refuted study? Don't they believe in following the science? 11/.
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4) "A software code change could reduce Bitcoin's energy use by 99.9%.". This sounds great on face value, but it misguided. PoW is what makes bitcoin a neutral network. It secures value and prevents security providers from taking over the network. PoS does not do this. 24/.
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Don't agree with the NYDIG results? Then, instead of wasting $5 million on useless ads, spend that money on scientists so they can do the real research. Let's have this battle in academic publications, where it belongs. 14/.
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I'm hosting a panel called, "Mining Bitcoin with Renewables", at Bitcoin22 in Miami, what questions would you like me to ask the panelists?.
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This is beautiful! Great work!.
Hey @Greenpeace,. We fixed your #changethecode video for you. Let us know if you're interested in honest discussion and better sources in the future. It's never too late to learn. #Bitcoin
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My first op-ed in @BitcoinMagazine just dropped. Hopefully more of these to come. Thank you to the editors. Also significant is that this is my public coming out as a Bitcoiner. 🙊 .
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The stupidity of state governments going after an industry that is one of many energy consumers and which uses not even 1% of global electricity, as if this will solve climate change. It won't. It won't even make a dent. 1/? (long 🧵).
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I think it's funny how PoS proponents think that PoS is a technological advancement from PoW. As if once you've figured out PoW, the natural next step is PoS. But if you think about it, PoS should be the first solution you think of because it is the only solution that existed.
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Everyone should read @brian_trollz's article on the new FinCEN rules. We have 90 days to respond. They want every transaction tracked. "FinCEN Proposes Insane Special Measures".
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Hanging out with friends. Protesting fascist policies. Just another day. #FamiliesBelongTogetherMarch
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While this releases CO2 emissions, this is better than releasing methane directly into the atmosphere. Methane is 84x better at trapping heat than CO2, over a 20 year period. Why is @Greenpeace trying to stop us from reducing methane emissions? 18/.
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Cambridge Center for Alternative Finance agrees that these are not apple-to-apple comparisons. "There is nothing quite like Bitcoin that can be readily used for an apples-to-apples comparison. Bitcoin is many things to many people:. " 7/.
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Our best estimates come from NYDIG's modeling. They project bitcoin mining/PoW emissions to peak at 0.9% of total global emissions. How can @Greenpeace promote an outrageous claim that bitcoin will push us to 2 degree C? As a climate activist & researcher, I expect better. 13/.
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OK, bitcoiner who is whispering in Trump's ear. We do not want hashrate centralization in the US. This should be obvious. Please get it together.
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If bitcoin mining were used to reduce methane emissions from flared/vented gas, combined with CO2 capture at the site, then local governments could create a dividend from this profit to fund a just transition. Bitcoin pays you to clean up the environment.
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Bitcoin for me right now is about finishing my PhD on bitcoin mining. It’s a lot of work but I am as close as I have ever been to being able to defend my thesis. I have a lot of educating to do among the academic community about why any of this even matters. It’s not an easy.
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2) "Bitcoin alone could help warm the planet more than 2 degrees.". This comes from a well-refuted study published in Nature Climate Change. In the same journal, three other publications challenged the original's dubious methodology. One group provided a clear warning. 10/.
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I’m traveling to Malmo, Sweden next week to speak at a climate tech conference about bitcoin’s use case as a tool for climate mitigation. Can’t believe this is happening. Looking forward to repping @btcpolicyorg while I am there!.
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“Straight to journal!?! Which journal?”. My PhD advisor’s comments on my conference paper draft about bitcoin mining load flexibility. Really positive feedback on my study! Instead of submitting this to a conference, we will be submitting to a high impact journal. This is a big
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". some consider it a new store of value in the form of a synthetic, counterparty-free commodity; others prize the underlying value transfer system that enables both payment and settlement functions in a permissionless and censorship-resistant fashion;. " 8/.
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". and still others are primarily drawn to the incorruptible notary function enabled by its tamper-resistant public ledger. As a result, direct comparisons to other activities that appear similar on the surface can only provide a partial – and. incomplete – picture." 9/.
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@VespyrKid @nsfwbunny143 @ramoumaaa Sure, explain it however way makes you happiest. Still does not do any justice to autism representation.
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Bitcoin miners monetize the capture of flared gas, which is a 100% combustion conversion from CH4 to CO2 and H2O. This generates electricity to operate the mining equipment. 17/.
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OK, so wearing bitcoin swag at farmer’s markets is probably the best decision I have ever made.
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The reality is that bitcoin's energy consumption cannot be measured using per transaction estimates. PoW/mining provides security for the network, once that is met, the only additional cost comes from transaction fees. Right now, that is 1% of miner earnings. 12/.
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At the university, I got in trouble for my involvement in the bitcoin world. My advisor disliked that I was writing policy papers, that @thetrocro and I influenced the White House and Congress on two occasions, that I was talking climate solutions at conferences around the world.
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Fighting bitcoin energy fud is exhausting. Been at it all day and still more to write. Aaagghhh.
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Don’t use centralized exchanges. @bisq_network is bitcoin only, it’s anonymous, and it’s fully decentralized software. A little intimidating at first, but highly reliable.
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I had zero care for markets and knew nothing about them until I got serious about bitcoin. It's even forced me to learn about futures markets so that I can understand things like stablesats and hedging volatility. There's no better school than bitcoin.
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@goodhorsemen @ValerioCapraro Yeah, I think ChatGPT could have done a way better job. I think the OP might just be biased against ESL students.
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Given the right local legislative environment, places like Texas could use mining as an effective tool to reduce methane emissions and even capture CO2 at the source using CCS. This is what @Greenpeace should be promoting. Real tools, right now. 20/.
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3) "Bitcoin is resurrecting fossil fuels.". There's two parts here. First, flared gas is a byproduct of fossil fuel production that is not very efficient, especially under windy conditions. More than that, flaring methane is harmful to rural and low-income communities. 15/.
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I see "Buy Bitcoin" is trending. Don't only buy bitcoin, study bitcoin.
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The goal is not to extend the lifetime of fossil fuels, but given government inaction, we must find alternative routes to reduce emissions. The IPCC reported that 0.3 deg C of the 1.1 deg C of warming is due to methane emissions. We need to reduce these emissions NOW. 19/.
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Politicians are rigging the energy market to make coal artificially cheaper, this is the only reason why mining can work with coal. The good news is that as more renewables come online, the cheaper prices will be. Making it impossible to run a coal plant. Time is on our side. 22/.
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Yes, we have seen a few coal mines come back to life using bitcoin mining. However, this is primarily due to state-level fossil fuel subsidies/tax breaks and a failure to secure a just transition for coal miners and their communities that depend on revenue from these plants. 21/.
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Flared methane causes respiratory problems, nausea, headaches, dizziness and causes pregnancy complications. It is an eye sore to the local communities. 16/.
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I'm going to stop saying bitcoin mining and start saying bitcoin proof-of-work centers.
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What we need is a just transition for coal miners and for their communities. Bitcoin can't solve this problem alone. We need politicians and organizations like @Greenpeace to take action. Let's work together to save our coal workers. 23/.
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I am so proud to announce that I will be the lead person on the new research program at BPI! Please share with students in your network! This is the first ever bitcoin-centered undergraduate research experience! BPI yet again making history. LFG.
Are you an undergraduate student passionate about the future of money, financial inclusion, and Bitcoin’s socio-economic impacts?. Apply for the Bitcoin Policy Institute's 8-week virtual research internship:
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The bitcoin as methane reducing tech is a great story but here's why you won't get climate activists celebrating. 1/🧵.
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This is how demand response works. DR is one essential tool for managing a renewable energy based grid. RE suffers from the “cannibalization effect” without DR. I can share a few peer-reviewed papers with you if you are unconvinced. Educate yourself before making bad takes.
Bitcoin mining operation Riot Blockchain earns more money in July by not mining, effectively mines without paying for power. August 8, 2022.
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Thank you Joe Biden for your incredible economic policies that led to tonight’s 100k breakout and for being the first 100k bitcoin President. 🤭.
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The NYTimes article got 4 million views but our response has only 40 thousand (an amazing achievement for our ting org ngl). Please help us get more visibility and spread our response which corrects the narrative on bitcoin mining. Please RT this tweet. 👇🏽.
A recent @nytimes article argues that Bitcoin mining hurts people and the planet. Here’s what they miss.
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So, @SenWarren proves she is not only incompetent, not only an opportunist, but that she’s also dangerous. I remember when she tried to take on the big banks, now she takes on people who are trying to do what she and other democrats failed to do. Sorry, you can’t kill bitcoin.
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#BernieSoBlack borders on anti-Semitism. Jews were the biggest non-black supporters of the NAACP and the Urban League. Jews were part of the Civil Rights movement. Bernie is so Jewish. Social justice is a big part of being a Jew. Some have forgotten this, but not Bernie.
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No respectable university would let their graduate students defend a thesis/dissertation that includes a handwritten figure like this. This is a joke.
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Calling all environmental bitcoiners! I'm pleased to announced our first Environmental Bitcoiner Meet Up at this year's @TheBitcoinConf. Where: .Sweet Liberty Drinks & Supply Co.237 20th St, Suite B. When:.May 19th, 2023.6:30pm - 9pm. RSVP FORM:
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This is embarrassing. It does not cease to amaze to see how little effort academics put in to determine whether a guy who is a central banker—who knows he is not being honest about his methodology and his agenda—is being honest and fair. Reach out to the ppl doing the work.
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Bitcoin miners are strongly negatively correlated with summer peak time ERCOT system wide load. Most loads including typical data centers do not share similar correlations. This means when demand is high, miners power down but other loads generally do not. According to a March
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If bitcoin isn't about making money but about making money better then why all this price action talk?.
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@PeterGleick This isn’t correct. Could we talk about this, Peter? There are many environmentalists in the bitcoin community and bitcoin mining has a role to play in the renewable energy transition. I know this is hard to believe, but it is true!.
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So this happened post-hearing. Rob Altenburg blocks people who disagree with him. Very disappointing.
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I am looking forward to going home and hiding behind my computer again.
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Relieved to announce that we submitted our report in response to the White House Exec Order request for info! Next up is for @thetrocro and I to finish revising our white paper on bitcoin, energy and the environment. Can’t wait to finish it and share it with all of you.
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Climate activists need bitcoin as one of their tools for system change. This is so not easy to understand, but how will you achieve system change, not climate change, if you don’t change the fundamental economics of society?.
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People, wake up. Bitcoin was never about political party platforms. Political parties are dead. Bitcoin is a way out of this system, stop trying to force it into something where it doesn't belong.
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@wef Here’s why this is wrong.
The latest attack on bitcoin makes it clear: Bitcoin is a threat to the existing financial system and its benefactors are using climate NGOs to do their dirty work. @Ripple CEO has teamed with @Greenpeace to play on emotions of people who care about the climate. This is wrong. 1/.
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@NoahCRothman Were you living under a rock? The rest of us saw how ugly the following decade was and we're still living through the second order effects.
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I realize that some of you expect me to have a nicer, more cordial response to the @greenpeaceusa /@thevonwong video. But I can't. It's misinformation like that that makes it impossible for me to be open with my friends about what I do.
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I have enough data and analysis done to be able to write-up my first bitcoin mining academic conference paper. Not sure if the conference will accept my submission, but it's an important first step towards getting my first publication. Wish me luck!.
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We may not be able to change hearts and minds at @greenpeaceusa, but I want ppl to know that the efforts that @thetrocro (and others) made were worthwhile, anyway. Troy deserves a lot of respect for trying to get them to see that there is a better way. Thank you, sir. 🫡.
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We all know this is unsustainable, right? Right?.
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Ripple + @greenpeaceusa “Change the Code” twitter account (@CleanUpBitcoin) has only 725 followers. 😬 . If you really want to “clean up” bitcoin, Greenpeace, then talk with @thetrocro, @DSBatten, myself and many others who can explain how mining helps clean up emissions.
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I think a lot of people in the bitcoin space underestimate the importance of soft skills at this stage of adoption.
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Bitcoin uses ~140TWh. This is how much we need to ramp up (in units of TWh) to meet the Paris Agreement goal of stopping warming at 1.5 deg C. We have a lot of work to do. Mining will be part of this transition, greening the hashrate is just a matter of time.
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