Tonight at 8:15 PM, one of the lead technical advisors from the DeFi project I’ve been involved with since day one, nearly 18 months ago, is running a live Zoom breaking down how decentralised finance actually works. They’ll be covering things like liquidity pools, mining bots, self-custody, diversification, digital assets and some of the different ways people are using DeFi to build income and grow their positions. If you’ve been trying to understand how all these pieces fit together, this should be a useful session. Comment DEFI and I’ll send you the Zoom link 🔗

What am I actually buying or accessing? Who controls custody? Can I self-custody? Is there real infrastructure underneath it? What audits have been completed? Can I verify those audits and the underlying activity myself? Where do the rewards or returns actually come from? Are those returns sustainable? What are the fees? Are there lock-ups, withdrawal limits or other restrictions? Who can change, pause or upgrade the protocol? What could break the model? What are the biggest ways I could lose money? And finally… How do I get out?

We’re moving toward a world where more and more assets are issued, traded and settled onchain. Stocks. Bonds. Real estate. Gold. Private credit. Funds. Collectibles. Infrastructure. Even government debt and traditional financial products are beginning to move onto blockchain rails. And that changes a lot. Markets can operate 24/7. Settlement can move from days to minutes or seconds. Assets can become easier to transfer, divide, collateralise and move across borders. Stablecoins are already becoming a major piece of global financial infrastructure. Banks, asset managers, governments and companies are all exploring how this technology fits into the financial system. This is the part I think most people still misunderstand. Crypto isn’t just about buying coins. The much bigger shift is the infrastructure underneath finance itself changing. Eventually, millions of people will be using blockchain-based financial rails without ever thinking of themselves as “using crypto.” I think this is one of the bigger shifts worth understanding over the next few years. Curious what everyone thinks… Which area do you think moves onchain first at scale? Stocks, real estate, gold, private credit… or something else?

When most people hear “crypto mining” they still picture racks of machines, huge electricity bills and a garage sounding like a jet engine 😂 That’s obviously still one way mining happens. But the setup I’ve been using for the last 18 months is completely virtual from my end. I currently have 31 miners running in the background, without having to physically buy, install or manage the equipment myself. Before I’d touch any mining setup though, there are a few things I’d want to understand: What am I actually buying or accessing? Where does the mining infrastructure sit and who operates it? Who actually controls custody of the assets and mining rewards. Me, or a third party? What independent audits or verifications have been completed and how can I verify them for myself? What are the costs and fees? What are the risks if the operator, network economics or crypto market changes? That last part matters. “Virtual” doesn’t mean risk-free or passive money magically appearing in an account. You still need to understand what’s actually happening underneath the hood. I’ve personally spent quite a bit of time testing this particular setup out myself now, so happy to break down more of how it works if people are interested. Lorien

You’re in!! Freedom Architecture is about intentionally building more Income, Assets, Leverage & Options so you have greater control over your future. This is a community for people who want to understand what’s changing world, identify the opportunities and actually build greater control, ownership and global optionality into their lives. Inside this community we’ll explore practical ways to: INCOME — build layered income through digital entrepreneurship, affiliate income and different income pathways. ASSETS — understand Bitcoin, crypto, DeFi, self-custody, ownership and long-term asset accumulation. LEVERAGE — use AI, automation, systems, technology, teams and distribution to multiply what you can do. OPTIONS — create more protection, resilience, flexibility and pathways before you need them. The philosophy is simple: Dependence creates fragility. Options create freedom. START HERE Head into the Start Here classroom first. That will show you how the community works and introduce you to the Freedom Architecture framework. Then explore the resources and pathways most relevant to you. And introduce yourself below 👇 Tell us: 1. Where are you from? 2. What are you currently building or working on? 3. Which matters most to you right now? More Income, Assets, Leverage or Options? Welcome to Freedom Architecture. Let’s build. Lorien