Bitcoin Takeover Podcast: Recent Episodes
Vlad Costea
Warning: this show contains critical thinking and real conversations with real bitcoiners. Both the host and the guests are not afraid of being critical, they constantly express the unpopular opinions that others don't even dare to utter, but in the end still conclude that Bitcoin is still the best money system humanity has ever had. It's going to take over the world, but we must ensure we use all the best practices of sovereignty and self custody.
If you do proceed in spite of this warning, you will have a lot to learn from genuine people who use Bitcoin all around the world.
While Bitcoin's financial, social and political takeover happens, you can learn more about it on the Bitcoin Takeover Podcast!
The recent ColliderScript research paper is a game changer: it enables Bitcoin covenants at a high cost, but without requiring any soft fork. It's the most remarkable breakthrough since BitVM and co-author Avihu M. Levy is here to explain how it works!
David A. Johnston is best known for creating "Johnston's Law", which says that everything that can be decentralized will be decentralized. In this episode, he talks about his early days working on the Omni layer & why he believes in decentralized AI now
In recent months, David Bailey has become one of Donald Trump's closest allies – and someone who is pulling strings to accelerate Bitcoin adoption in the USA. In this episode we find out more about what a Trump administration means for Bitcoin.
Zcash is perhaps the most influential project in the cryptocurrency space, as it produces extremely useful research in the field Zero Knowledge proofs. Electric Coin Company CEO Josh Swihart & Zcash Core dev Kris Nuttycombe explain why Zcash us great.
Polto & Darko are the co-founders of Hodling.ch: a Swiss company which specializes in offering advice on self custody best practices. In this episode, you will get some pro tips about private key management & setting up backups to secure your coins.
Andrey Sabelnikov has a history with the CryptoNote protocol, and even worked under pseudonymous Monero grandfather Nicholas von Saberhagen. Recently, he built Zano with Pavel Nikienkov. It's a protocol for issuing tokens with good privacy.Time Stamps:Introducing Andrey & Pavel (00:00:54)What is Zano? (00:02:46)Hybrid Consensus Mechanism (00:04:50)Challenges of Proof of Stake (00:07:15)Security Aspects of Consensus (00:10:27)Cost of Attacks on Consensus (00:13:13)Nation-State Threats (00:15:09)Open Source Development (00:18:00)User Control and System Integrity (00:20:07)User Interface (21:24)Decentralization in Zano (21:51)Mobile Application Concerns (22:30)Integration with Cake Wallet & Bitcoin.com (23:13)Sideshift & Starkware (24:31)Introduction to Zano (25:59)Zano's Technology Overview (26:40)History with Monero (27:40)Collaboration with Monero Developers (29:51)Background in Bitcoin? (31:44)Nicholas von Saberhagen's Role in Monero & Zano (32:55)Conspiracy Theories Surrounding Satoshi (35:19)Support from Nicholas von Saberhagen (36:02)Addressing Community Drama (38:28)Defending Developers Against Conspiracy Theories (40:24)The Negative Narrative Around Privacy (00:42:10)Infighting in the Privacy Field (00:43:06)Polarization Among Blockchain Projects (00:43:51)Criticism of Proof of Work vs. Proof of Stake (00:44:34)Historical Innovations in Privacy Projects (00:45:51)Community Dynamics in Crypto Projects (00:47:41)Privacy as a Niche Market (00:49:34)Tribalism in Wallet Choices (00:50:16)Misconceptions About Monero's Origins (00:51:13)Support and Community in Early Crypto (00:55:14)Comparing Zano and Monero (00:59:38)Zano Token Issuance and Privacy (01:02:45)Monero's Privacy Advantages (01:03:14)Future of Zano's Privacy (01:04:48)Appreciation of Honesty (01:05:29)Liquidity and Usability (01:06:18)Building Private Stablecoins (01:07:50)Consensus Mechanism Comparison (01:08:39)Debating Consensus Models (01:09:45)Market Influence of Discussion (01:11:51)Privacy of Issued Assets (01:12:30)Zano Wallet Experiment (01:14:51)Batch Transactions Limitations (01:15:36)Technological Limitations Explained (01:19:18)Decentralization and Project Economics (01:20:34)Discussion on Monero Fees (01:23:06)Zano's Emission Strategy (01:23:30)Clarifying Staking Misconceptions (01:24:35)Challenges of Scaling Zano (01:27:28)Transaction Speed and Validation (01:30:25)Future Plans for Fee Market (01:33:59)Discussion on Zano's Fees (01:35:35)Audience Questions on Tax and Premium (01:36:41)Whitelist Functionality in Zano Wallet (01:38:44)Confidential Layer Project (01:40:31)Adoption of Full Chain Membership Proof (01:42:13)Zano's Domain Name Feature (01:44:24)Zano's Core Features (01:44:59)Comparison to Ethereum Name Service (01:45:32)Origins of Namecoin (01:46:20)Skepticism About Bitcoin (01:47:17)Namecoin Functionality (01:49:20)Decentralization Trends (01:50:32)Zano Fee Burn Rate (01:51:08)End Goals of Zano (01:51:44)Privacy Misconceptions (01:52:31)Transparency in Ethereum (01:54:03)Bitcoin Privacy Concerns (01:55:03)Criminal Definitions and Taxation (01:56:30)Living in 2017? (01:58:17)Bitcoin Maximalism vs. Alternative Projects (01:59:21)Current State of Bitcoin Privacy & Fungibility (02:02:00)Future of Zano (02:06:10)Competing with Monero (02:08:10)Industry Influence on Zano (02:09:40)Tokenization and Practical Applications (02:10:18)Competition from Tari (02:12:52)Recognition Despite Size (02:20:06)Legal Risks for Privacy Developers (02:21:06)Community Support and Development (02:18:54)Final Thoughts on Zano (02:23:12)Use Cases for Zano (02:25:15)Market Value of Privacy (02:26:16)Following Zano's Work (02:26:35)Twitter and Engagement Challenges (02:28:05)Sending Bitcoin Takeover Zano Tokens (02:28:47)Mobile Wallet Features (02:29:35)Caution with Impersonators (02:30:07)Closing Remarks (02:31:06)
MWEB (MimbleWimble Extension Block) is a way to add privacy & extra scalability on a parallel blockchain. First proposed by Andrew Poelstra in 2016, it was quickly forgotten in the Bitcoin world. But thanks to David Burkett, it's now live on Litecoin.Time stamps:Introduction to MWEB and David Burkett (00:00:55)Origins of MWEB (00:01:40)Comparing MWEB to Bitcoin's Taproot (00:02:07)Community Trends in Bitcoin (00:02:32)Historical Context of Litecoin's Privacy Features (00:03:23)Challenges in Development (00:04:09)Explanation of Grin and MWEB (00:05:03)Grin's Adoption Issues (00:09:01)Marek Narozniak's Insights (00:10:06)Relevance of MWEB Today (00:10:48)MWEB vs Grin (00:12:13)Technical Challenges of MWEB Implementation (00:14:23)User Experience in MWEB (00:16:28)Types of Privacy in MWEB (00:18:03)Network Level Privacy (00:18:18)Satoshi's Vision on Privacy (00:19:16)Limitations of MWEB (00:20:05)Sender Privacy Considerations (00:21:07)Combining MWEB and Clear Chain Inputs (00:22:04)Understanding MWEB Pegging (22:05)Privacy Considerations in Transactions (23:02)CoinJoin and MWEB Integration (24:45)Liquidity of Privacy Coins (26:46)Future of Swaps Between Coins (29:24)Drivechains (31:57)Risks of Consensus Changes (35:02)Rebranding MWEB as VPM (37:16)Anonymity vs. Liquidity (38:37)
Liam Eagen (Alpen Labs), Robin Linus (Zero Sync, BitVM) & Jonas Nick (Blockstream, Taproot) talk about their groundbreaking research paper about Shielded Client-Side Validation – a new way to bring privacy & scalability to Bitcoin.––––––––––––––––––––––––––Time stamps:Introduction (00:00:51) What is Client-Side Validation? (00:02:09) Trade-offs in Client-Side Validation (00:04:20) Comparison with Existing Protocols (00:05:18) On-chain Throughput and Privacy (00:09:21) Connecting Bitcoin and Shielded CSV (00:09:55) User Interaction with the Protocol (00:11:07) Challenges with the Lightning Network (00:12:22) Atomic Swaps and Compatibility (00:14:56) Shielded CSV vs Monero & Zcash (00:16:12) Discussion on STARKs (00:19:28) OP_CAT and Covenants (00:21:46) OP_CAT and Functional Encryption (00:24:03) Exploration of BitcoinOS (00:25:21) Potential of BitVM (00:26:11)Bitcoin as a Currency (00:28:21) Funding for CSV Projects (00:30:40) Taint Concept in Shielded Transactions (00:31:14) Adoption and Privacy Protocols (00:34:08) Transaction Fees in Shielded Transactions (00:35:08) Throughput and Base Layer Efficiency (00:36:04) Node Behavior During Transactions (00:38:12) Comparison with MimbleWimble (00:39:41) CryptoSteel’s New Device (00:40:29) Drivechains (00:41:04) Discussion about crypto steel backups and a sponsor, Layer Two Labs, promoting drive chains.Concerns Over Soft Forks (00:43:51) Rough Consensus Definition (00:45:04) Challenges of Soft Fork Implementation (00:46:15) Balancing Stability and Innovation (00:47:29) Miner Incentives and Fee Structures (00:48:38) Future of Post-Quantum Proposals (00:49:44) Increasing Block Size for CSV (00:50:00) Ideal Block Size Debate (00:53:08) Quantum Computing Threat (00:59:02) Potential Consequences of Quantum Attacks (01:00:24) Post-Quantum Solutions (01:02:23) Quantum Computing Timeline (01:02:50) Complexity of Quantum Computers (01:03:31) Quantum Records and Limitations (01:05:44) Chat Question on Shielding Protocol (01:06:12) Hodling.ch (01:06:45) Self-Custody Security (01:09:15) Threat Models in Security (01:09:58) Hardware Wallet Cautionary Tale (01:10:33) Conference Discussions (01:12:05) Shielded CSV Funding and Development Timeline (01:13:58) Prototype Development Outlook (01:15:29) Concerns Over Adoption (01:17:31) Scalability vs. Privacy Debate (01:19:34) Tether on Shielded CSV? (01:22:04) Revenue Models Discussion (01:22:22) Transaction Fees and Profitability (01:23:25) Publisher Fees in CSV Protocol (01:24:16) Competition and Business Models (01:25:40) Soft Fork Proposals for Improvement (01:26:07) Script Restoration and Arithmetic Improvements (01:27:30) Future of Shielded Client-Side Validation (01:37:23) Keeping Up with Developments (01:38:44) Self-Promotion and Team Dynamics (01:41:05) Proof of Stake? (01:42:51) Rare Pepes in Shielded CSV (01:43:56) Acknowledgment of Guests (01:46:18) Call to Action: Shield Emoji (01:47:57) Importance of Learning Bitcoin (01:48:07)Resources for Learning Bitcoin (01:48:31)Commentary on Peter Wuille (01:49:26)Block Size Debate (01:50:02)Optimizing Bitcoin for Global Use (01:51:05)
Just a few days after launching the Citrea testnet, Orkun Kilic joins the Bitcoin Takeover podcast to talk about his team's approach to building zero-knowledge proofs and the ambition to create a BTC-only economy around it.
Prof. Richard Werner is best known for proposing quantitative easing while working at the Bank of Japan in the 1990s, and then predicting the 2008 financial crisis. Today, he is a fan of Bitcoin and small community banks.
Decred is one of the oldest & most respectable altcoin projects around, which today has base layer privacy by default, a very stable Lightning Network implementation & an excellent DEX. Jake Yokom-Piatt & Phoenix Green explain how it all works.
Kruw runs the most successful Wasabi wallet 2.0 coordinator and is the kind of privacy advocate who actually builds. In this episode, he talks about continuing Wasabi, the shortcomings of Samourai & how blockchain analysis works.Time stamps:Introduction (00:00:39) Recap of Wasabi Wallet Discussions (00:01:33) Samourai Wallet's Decentralization Announcement (00:02:28) Challenges Faced by Privacy Projects (00:03:56) Shift in Bitcoin Culture (00:04:40) Impact of Regulatory Pressures (00:05:32) Wasabi's Resilience (00:06:40) Exploring Bitcoin's Privacy Features (00:07:53) Demonstrating CoinJoin Transactions (00:08:36) Differences Between CoinJoin and Monero (00:10:24) Challenges with Bitcoin Transaction Privacy (00:11:23) Concerns Over High Transaction Fees (00:13:11) Wasabi's New Features for Privacy (00:17:40) User-Friendly Features in Wasabi 2.0 (00:20:14)Transaction Speedup Options (00:21:18) Critique of UTXO Management in Wasabi 2.0 (00:23:05) Wasabi Wallet User Control (00:23:38) Switching Coordinators Feature (00:24:03) Decentralized Coordinator Community (00:24:50) User Preferences in Coordinator Selection (00:26:18) Coordinator Fees Discussion (00:30:56) Drivechains and Mining Concerns (00:31:04) Market Dynamics of Coordinator Fees (00:34:25) Collecting Dust from Transactions (00:37:43) Trezor's Coinjoin (00:38:09) Wasabi Wallet's Development Funding (00:41:14) Samourai Wallet's Blockchain Analysis Tool (00:42:36) Address Reuse and Privacy Challenges (00:46:49) Mistakes in Privacy Usage (00:49:40) Discrediting Wasabi Wallet (00:50:21) Cash Fusion (00:51:42) Reputation and Arrests (00:53:23) Bitcoin Privacy Camps (00:54:33) Join Market's Unique Position (00:55:56) Legal Risks in Bitcoin Coordination (00:56:21) The Fight for Bitcoin's Future (01:00:01) Personal Ethics and Legal Protections (01:01:42) Concerns Over Martyrdom (01:03:14) Physical Tokens and Authenticity (01:04:12) Critique of Samourai Wallet (01:05:10) Transparency Issues in Samurai Wallet (01:08:09) Closed Source vs. Open Source Debate (01:09:55) Default Privacy Features in Samurai Wallet (01:11:26) Ricochet Transactions and Fees (01:13:13) Government Awareness of Transactions (01:14:41) Implications of Fee Collection (01:15:01) Personal Standards and Hypocrisy (01:15:53) New Pepe Avatar Presentation (01:16:21) Nostr vs. Twitter (01:18:21) Support for CTV & Covenants (01:20:11)Governance and Community Dynamics (01:22:38) Concerns about ETF Privacy (01:22:53) Complexity of Consensus Changes (01:24:08) Community Understanding of Proposals (01:28:20) Censorship Resistance in Bitcoin (01:31:01) Market Dynamics and Filters (01:32:46) Historical Context of Data on Bitcoin (01:34:08) Criticism of Jimmy Song (01:35:31) Litecoin's Role in Segwit Activation (01:36:30) Bitcoin's Cultural Stagnation (01:37:47) Ranking Privacy Coins (01:39:45) Liquidity vs. Privacy (01:40:26) Technological Advancements in Privacy (01:41:39) User Resistance to New Technology (01:42:54) 10101 Shutdown (01:43:09) Drivechains and Altcoins (01:44:16) Monero Liquidity Concerns (01:45:58) Future of Bitcoin vs. Altcoins (01:46:29) Cultural Conflicts in Bitcoin Development (01:47:20) Blockstream's Influence (01:48:26) Whale Bots in Bitcoin (01:51:49) Michael Saylor's Influence (01:52:52) Bitcoin's Future and Development (01:55:07) Censorship Resistance vs. Privacy (01:59:08) Satoshi's Coins and Community Reaction (02:00:05) Blockchain Analysis Case (02:01:08)Challenges of Privacy Services (02:04:15)Tracking Methods in Blockchain (02:05:20)Understanding Transaction Outputs (02:06:39)Heuristics for Blockchain Analysis (02:09:03)Personal Experience with Blockchain Analysis (02:10:06)Samurai Wallet's Controversies (02:10:58)Victims vs. Heroes in Privacy Projects (02:13:37)Bitcoin Soft Forks for Privacy (02:16:46)Statechains and Privacy (02:18:18)Interactive Transactions Challenges (02:20:08)Monero and Chainalysis (02:22:25)Network Level Privacy Issues (02:23:01)Future of Privacy Tools (02:24:01)Zano's Hybrid Consensus Model (02:24:49)Tail Emission Interest (02:25:13)Consensus Mechanisms Explained (02:26:11)Future of Bitcoin on Layer 2 (02:27:05)Lightning Network, Finally (02:28:28)Privacy Concerns in Lightning (02:29:39)Confidentiality vs. Privacy (02:29:24)Splicing and Lightning Efficiency (02:30:12)Public vs. Unannounced Lightning Channels (02:32:40)Custodial Systems and Privacy (02:34:12)Investment in Privacy Technologies (02:35:31)Nym Security Token Overview (02:36:57)Challenges of Decentralization (02:40:03)Tor and Bitcoin Privacy (02:41:22)Running a Tor Relay (02:42:10)Discussion on Transaction Value (02:48:55)Counterarguments on Spam Incentives (02:49:34)Block Size Debate (02:51:20)Challenges of Block Size Increases (02:52:41)Ethereum vs. Bitcoin Cash (02:57:48)Dynamic Block Size Mechanisms (02:58:57)Running Full Nodes on Mobile (03:00:10)Wrap Up and Future Prospects (03:03:49)
Charlie Shrem, best known for being the co-founder & CEO of BitInstant, is still an optimistic bitcoiner. In this episode, he comments on the block size wars, shares his thoughts on ongoing development & promotes his upcoming book about his journey.Time stamps:Introducing Charlie Shrem (00:00:23) How This Interview Happened (00:01:51)The Block Size Wars (00:02:41)2014 Marked the End of an Era (00:05:16) Bitcoin Community Dynamics and Changes (00:06:55) Technical and Political Challenges (00:08:04) The Rise & Rise of Bitcoin Documentary (00:10:43) Stablecoins vs. Bitcoin (00:12:39) Philosophical Reflections on Money (00:15:29) Charlie Shrem’s Pepe (00:17:02) Personal Reflections on Prison Life (18:18) Rebirth After Prison (21:45) The State of Bitcoin (23:17) Cultural Shift in Bitcoin Community (27:09) Privacy Concerns in Bitcoin (30:03) The Future of Bitcoin (32:09) Scaling Challenges (35:05)Bitcoin's Value and System (00:36:33) Bitcoin's Success and Adoption (00:37:55) Bitcoin's Transactional Volume (00:39:04) Encouraging Bitcoin Usage (00:40:03) The Role of Stablecoins (00:41:26) Bitcoin Cash (00:42:32) Samuel's Poem on Bitcoin (00:43:34) Bitcoin Cash's Origins (00:46:08) Amaury’s New Project (00:47:27) The Importance of Leaderless Systems (00:48:17) Interesting Projects Beyond Bitcoin (00:50:12) Elon Musk and Bitcoin (00:52:14) Working on a Bitcoin Book (00:53:54) Charlie Shrem’s Poem (00:56:00) PoW Summit in Frankfurt (00:57:40) Closing Remarks (00:57:54)
Ben Arc is the creator of LNBits, as well as one of the founding fathers of the Nostr social media protocol. In this episode, he reflects on the state of development in Bitcoin and why he is still bullish on the Lightning Network!Time stamps:Introducing Ben (00:00:23)LNBits Contributors and Collaborators (00:01:41)Scaling Challenges of Lightning Network (00:05:01)Bidirectional Payment Channels (00:06:06)Need for Development in Lightning Network (00:07:22)Skepticism Towards Trusted Third Parties (00:09:32)Importance of Swapping Services (00:12:20)Innovating Lightning (00:17:40)ZK Rollups and Future of Bitcoin (00:18:15) Covenants and Computer Science (00:19:49) ZK Proofs and Mobile Wallets (00:20:21) Drivechains (00:20:51) Litecoin's Influence on Bitcoin (00:22:10)Centralized Mining Concerns (00:23:06) Community Contributions and Tribalism (00:24:13) Self-Custody Consulting (00:25:04) Cashu and Its Implications (00:26:08)Game Theory and Custodial Solutions (00:27:08) Mints and Trust Issues (00:29:58) Ecash and Its Future (00:33:37) Regulatory Environment for Cryptocurrencies (00:34:12) Alternative Cryptocurrencies (00:35:02) Bitcoin's Payment Technology (00:36:50) Pursuing the Right Focus (00:38:58) Getting Started with LNBits and Nostr (00:39:23) Disclaimer on Personal Views (00:39:37) Exploring LNBits (00:40:03)Ben's Current Projects (00:41:18) Acknowledging Team Contributions (00:41:47) Future Aspirations for Lightning Payments (00:42:00) Thematic Nostr Clients (00:43:00) Closing Remarks (00:43:47) Mutual Appreciation (00:44:18) Acknowledging Hard Work (00:45:09)
Mike Carson is the CEO of Impervious (and Friendster): a Bitcoin-native ZK proof-native protocol which allows for scalable domain registrations on the Bitcoin blockchain. In this episode, he explains how & why he decided to disrupt ICANN.Time stamps:Introduction to the Podcast (00:00:41)Importance of Digital Identity (00:02:44)Overview of Spaces (00:05:25)Development of Spaces (00:06:38)Historical Context of Domain Names (00:08:38)Challenges with Namecoin (00:10:02)Censorship and Domain Ownership (00:12:49)Technical Limitations of Ethereum (00:13:52)Value of Impervious Spaces (00:17:27)Functionality of Spaces (00:18:33)Auction Mechanism Explained (00:19:58)Sponsor Introduction (00:21:05)Vlad introduces the episode's sponsors, Sideshift & StarkwareConcatenation Opcode Discussion (00:22:26)Domain Access Query (00:23:29)Decentralized Naming System Details (00:23:43)Integration with Existing Systems (00:25:25)Data Storage Capabilities (00:25:58)Browser Integration Possibilities (00:27:02)Redirecting vs. Building (00:28:28)Squatting Prevention Measures (00:29:33)Human-Readable Payment Addresses (00:30:35)General Purpose Naming Integration (00:32:50)Open Source Development (00:33:22)Sidechains and Domain Names (00:33:55)Scaling Bitcoin Discussion (00:35:00)Self-Custody Consultancy (00:36:08)Digital Identity Importance (00:37:09)Potential of Naming Protocols (00:38:03)Marketplace Potential for Spaces (00:40:00)Value of Domain Names (00:40:27)User Interface Development (00:41:07)Selling Subspaces (00:42:13)Concerns About Domain Services (00:42:50)Past Domain Protocols (00:43:26)Importance of Decentralized Naming (00:44:07)Challenges of Competing with Established Services (00:48:24)Community Support for Decentralized Projects (00:49:36)Bitcoin Address Integration (00:50:59)Zero Knowledge Proofs for Scalability (00:54:14)Security and Decentralization of Block Space (00:56:08)Community Adoption of Spaces Protocol (00:57:19)Expected Launch Date for Spaces Protocol (00:58:16)Overview of Other Projects (00:59:42)Building for Handshake (00:59:46)Focus on Spaces (01:01:04)Following Spaces Updates (01:01:09)Personal Branding and Friendster (01:02:55)Domain Name Industry Insights (01:03:06)Bringing Back Friendster (01:04:49)Friendster's Historical Context (01:06:00)Nostalgia for MySpace and Hi5 (01:07:15)Onboarding Users to Bitcoin (01:08:04)Final Thoughts and Encouragement (01:09:41)
Murch is a Bitcoin Core contributor, best known for his engineering work at Chaincode Labs & his prolific answers on Bitcoin's Stack Exchange page. In this episode, he breaks myths about ordinals, OP_CAT, Drivechains, 0conf, ossification & more!
Edan Yago is the co-author of BitcoinOS: the first Zero Knowledge proof system to get verified on Bitcoin's main net. BitcoinOS is a significant breakthrough, as it endows Bitcoin with extended financial features without the need for a soft fork.
Paul Puey is the CEO & co-founder of Edge Wallet: a light mobile wallet which is optimized for privacy features. In this episode, we talk about the philosophy behind Edge, how one should analyze privacy features & the various layers of Bitcoin privacy.
Justin Bons is one of the most popular Bitcoin critics on Twitter. As a fan of new technologies, he believes that sharding and other scaling techniques will save the trilemma and bring uncompromising decentralization. Is it really so?
Peter Todd is known for being brutally honest: so when it comes to topics such as covenant soft forks, monetary inflation, Bitcoin scaling & privacy, he won't hold back from being critical while expressing his love for the Lightning network
What's next for Wasabi Wallet after ZK Snacks shut down the biggest CoinJoin coordinator? Lucas Ontivero & Turbolay, the two developers who still maintain the code, are positive that the project will grow even bigger than before! So when is 3.0 coming?
Bitcoin Uncensored cohost Chris DeRose makes his fourth appearance on the Bitcoin Takeover podcast! This time around, he dislikes the English language, hates materialism, and wouldn't even accept a free Supra! Three former BU guests join the reunion.
Sergio Demian Lerner is the architect of Rootstock, Bitcoin's first sidechain. Recently, he became interested in BitVM as an instrument to create trust-minimized sidechains. So he optimized the design & created BitVMX!
What are the Bitcoin projects that suck? In this episode, Super Testnet & Shinobi point out to lots of suboptimal features in CoinJoins, Lightning Network, Nostr, BitVM, and Bitcoin development itself. It's fun, it's educational & it's brutally honest!
F/Dev, also known as 1440000bytes or simply "Floppy", is an open source developer best known for his work on Joinstr: a CoinJoin implementation for Electrum wallet. In this episode, he talks about Bitcoin privacy & his new job at LayerTwo Labs.
Rijndael is the CTO of Taproot Wizards – a group of bitcoiners who want to make Bitcoin magical. In this interview, he talks about why OP_CAT matters and what kind of features we should expect to see in Bitcoin once a covenant soft fork gets activated.
Pete Rizzo is a veteran Bitcoin journalist who still remembers the time when Bitcoin & crypto were the same undivided community. In this episode, he talks about why Bitcoin history matters & how he approaches journalism.
Crypsi is the representative of an art collective which expresses its anti-establishment ideas through physical paintings & collages, as well as digitally tokenized ideas. In this episode, he explains why memes are art & why memecoins matter.
Marek Narozniak is a Polish physicist who works on a MimbleWimble implementation that can get added to Bitcoin via extension blocks to become a privacy layer. He also specializes in quantum computing, and busts some FUD about their threat.
Back in 2014, Eli Ben-Sasson co-authored the Zerocash paper, which proposed a ZK SNARK system that creates anonymous Bitcoin payments. Around the same time, he also spoke about the compression benefits of zero-knowledge proofs – a full Bitcoin node can be synced within seconds just by verifying against a valid proof.More recently, he became interested in STARKs and built a company around this cryptographic breakthrough. If SNARKs require a trusted setup, then STARKs are a major leap towards trust minimization. If Bitcoin activates the OP_CAT soft fork, then this ZK rollup scheme also becomes possible to enable great privacy and low-sized transactions.
OpenDelta is a synthetic dollar (stablecoin) that's built on top of Bitcoin's newly-launched Runes protocol. In this episode, co-founders Nick Schteringart & Konstantin Wünscher discuss about how and why they built this.
MWEB was activated on Litecoin's main net in 2022, providing a useful mix of privacy and scalability. It's a fascinating soft fork that's 100% compatible with Bitcoin. In this episode, Charlie Lee explains how MWEB works & why it matters.
David Bailey is the owner of Bitcoin Magazine. Ideologically, he is a Bitcoin maximalist who wants everything to happen on Bitcoin and get traded for BTC. During this episode, we also mint a special ordinal... which you can buy for 3.125 BTC!
Aaron Day has been a bitcoiner since 2012 – and in the aftermath of the scaling wars, he decided to support the big block camp due to ideological reasons. Today, Aaron is concerned that adoption might not catch up with the rise of CBDCs.
Ray Youssef is the CEO of NoOnes, a P2P marketplace which enables people from the Global South to exchange bitcoin for gift cards or local currencies. As he describes it, NoOnes is the platform where "everyone eats" – meaning that all parties make advantageous trades that help them feed themselves and their families.Consequently, Ray is an advocate of free market money who agrees with Roger Ver on some points. In this episode, he explains what those points are and why he believes Bitcoin was truly hijacked.
Charlie Lee is the creator of Litecoin and the current managing director of the Litecoin Foundation. Some may also remember him as Engineering Director at Coinbase. But very notably, Charlie Lee is one of the earliest believers in the power of the Lightning Network and an investor in Lightning Labs.I've decided to invite Charlie on the Bitcoin Takeover podcast for the third time in order to ask him a simple yet puzzling question: how come Litecoin is still successful and thrives in a world where the Lightning Network exists and offers instant transactions on Bitcoin? Furthermore, I tried to figure out what it is that makes Litecoin successful 13 years on and how it can support Bitcoin with scaling.
Polish bitcoiner & libertarian Tomek Kolodziejczuk is co-organizing the 2nd annual Bitcoin Film Fest. In 2024, the event happens at the same time as the European Halving Party.In this episode, we talk about Bitcoin-related art, the current state of cinema, and why the halving (or halvening?) is such a major event.
Amaury Séchet is the developer who forked Bitcoin to create Bitcoin Cash in August 2017. A year later, he became one of the first people to find out about the inflation bug in Bitcoin – yet he chose to not exploit it and collaborate with the Bitcoin Core devs instead.Deadalnix was also one of the first large blockers to figure out that Craig Wright is not Satoshi. On the other hand, he appears to be a fan of dev taxes.Why did he not destroy Bitcoin? Why do large blockers keep on creating forks? How was Craig Wright exposed among the big blocker circles? In this episode, we learn more about this lesser known part of Bitcoin history.
Adam Soltys is a Canadian bitcoiner, best known for his work on Raretoshi – a marketplace for Liquid network NFTs. Cole is a marketer who likes the Lightning network. Together, they built Coinos: a custodial & newbie-friendly Lightning wallet.
As of 2024, Roger Ver has been in Bitcoin for 7 years and in Bitcoin Cash for 7 years. This episode is a reflection on his journey and an attempt to bring back one of the greatest Bitcoin advocates and entrepreneurs.
Thanks to the efforts of CommerceBlock CEO Nicholas Gregory and CTO Tom Trevethan, Statechains are now a reality on the MercuryLayer. Originally designed by Ruben Somsen, Statechains serve the purpose of transferring ownership of bitcoins in a private, scalable, and affordable environment. However, the original Statechain design requires the ANYPREVOUT soft fork – something Bitcoin didn't get. But thanks to the efforts of Nicholas Gregory and Thomas Trevethan, MercuryLayer works around the limitations to make Statechains happen without the need for a soft fork.
Bryan Bishop is a computer programmer who currently moderates the Bitcoin-dev mailing list and considers a position as BIP editor. In this episode, he talks about his work in Bitcoin, his Webcash experiment, and why he is an advocate of biokaching.
As the CEO of Synonym, John Carvalho has experimented with many Bitcoin layers & protocols – including OmniBolt, Lightning & sidechains. In this episode, he explains what lessons he's learned and why he believes in more conservative ways to scale Bitcoin.
Eric Voskuil is the maintainer of Libbitcoin & the author of Cryptoeconomics. In this episode, he offers details about the Libbitcoin incident that took place in the summer of 2023 and also criticizes some aspects of the cult of Michael Saylor.
Fiatjaf is the creator of Nostr, a decentralized social media protocol which enables everyone around the world to communicate without censorship. Surprisingly, he doesn't agree with some existing Nostr software, no longer likes Lightning & promotes BIP300.Nostr Bitcoin and Lightning (00:00:47) Fiatjaf's creation Nostr, association with Bitcoin, and differing opinions on its development and use.Creation of Nostr (00:01:55)Decentralization and BlueSky (00:07:31) Comparison between Nostr and BlueSky, and the importance of decentralization.Peter Todd's Criticism (00:09:33) Fiatjaf's response to Peter Todd's criticism and the misunderstanding of Nostr's decentralization.Nostr's Popularity and Lightning Criticism (00:15:31) The influence of Jack Dorsey on Nostr's growth and the controversial opinion on Lightning's limitations.The Future of Bitcoin and Lightning (00:20:43) Fiatjaf's skepticism about Lightning as the future of Bitcoin, deferring to Antoine Riard as a reliable source for insights.Challenges of running nodes (00:23:21) The challenges and limitations of running Lightning nodes for normal users and the evolution of the uncle Jim model.Issues with small transactions (00:26:11) The impracticality of sending very small transactions in the Lightning network due to fees and protocol limitations.Difficulties of being a custodian (00:29:21) The challenges and limitations of being a custodian in the Lightning network.Complexities of Lightning protocol (00:34:18) Exploration of the complex features and potential bugs in the Lightning protocol, as well as the challenges of routing and receiving payments.Struggles of managing a routing node (00:36:40) Personal experiences and challenges faced while managing a routing node in the Lightning network.Drivechains for scaling Bitcoin (00:39:29) Discussion on the potential of Drivechains as a solution for scaling Bitcoin, including technical and consensus considerations.Criticism of Drivechains (00:42:12) Concerns regarding Drivechains, including the potential increase in human politics and voting processes.BIP301 and voting concerns (00:43:24) Discussion on the automatic voting process and concerns about adding politics and complexity to the Bitcoin network.Focusing on Future Bitcoiners (00:47:04)BitVM and Roll-Ups (00:53:14) Discussion about the BitVM project and roll-up systems, including skepticism and concerns about its overhyped nature.State of Soft Forks (00:59:22) Conversation about the absence of soft forks and the emergence of workarounds in the Bitcoin space.Liquid and Decentralization (01:02:48) The nature of Liquid as a blockchain and the concerns about its decentralization and reliance on geopolitics for security.The vilification of miners (01:04:31)The narrative shift in Bitcoin, from miners activating changes to users activating with full nodes.Miners' role in soft fork activation (01:05:46)Criticism of Drivechains (01:06:22)Two-way pegs and price (01:08:17) Concerns about the value of pegged BTC on sidechains and potential market fluctuations.Arguments against miner theft from sidechains (01:09:30) Debunking the idea of miners stealing from successful sidechains and its impact on Bitcoin's value.Mining centralization and Drivechains (01:11:52)Miner-extracted value (MEV) and its relevance (01:15:18) Exploration of miner-extracted value (MEV) and its applicability in the Bitcoin context.Accidental hard fork and network cooperation (01:17:13)LayerTwo Labs and Drivechain adoption (01:18:26) Can LayerTwo Labs activate Drivechains & push adoption?Challenges of running Bitcoin nodes (01:21:02) On the difficulty of running Bitcoin nodes and UTXO set management.
Bastien and Baudoin are the creators and main promoters of Satochip: an affordable self-custody solution which makes use of the smart card technology to provide hardware wallet features. In this episode, they explain how Satochip works & why it's unique.
Alexei Zamyatin is an academic cryptographer who works on the Build on Bitcoin projects. His approach to scaling Bitcoin with second layers involves some unconventional methods, which he describes in this interview.Zero Knowledge Proofs and Rollups (00:01:21) Discussion of the development of layer two solutions, including zero knowledge proofs and rollups.Defining BitVM Rollups (00:01:58) Explanation of the debate surrounding the definition of zk rollups and the introduction of the new category of BitVM rollups.Citrea's Approach (00:04:41) Analysis of Citrea's zk optimized BitVM rollup and its approach to sidechains and rollups.Zero Knowledge Proofs and Rollups Explained (00:05:26) Explanation of the concepts of zero knowledge proofs and rollups in the context of layer two solutions.Comparison of Rollups and Sidechains (00:12:41) Comparison of sidechains and zk rollups, discussing their differences and promises.The Vision of Build on Bitcoin (00:18:48) Discussion of the problems to be solved in the development of layer two solutions and the vision of the Build on Bitcoin project.EVM: The easiest way to build decentralized applications (00:22:54) Alexei Zamyatin advocates for the ease of building decentralized applications using EVM, while pointing out to the challenges of building infrastructure from scratch.Liquidity and Stablecoins on Rollups (00:23:53) The challenges of bringing stablecoins onto rollups and the dependency on centralized parties for stablecoin provision.Bootstrapping BOB as an ETH Rollup (00:25:47) Alexei xplains the decision to bootstrap BOB as an ETH rollup, inheriting Ethereum security and bridging assets.Pragmatic approach to Bitcoin and Ethereum (00:30:06) Alexei Zamyatin discusses the pragmatic approach to Bitcoin and Ethereum, acknowledging the need to cater to user preferences and solve real-world problems.Building centralized layer on Bitcoin and counterparty models (00:37:03) The trade-offs of building centralized layers on Bitcoin and the limitations of counterparty and other models.Satochip and IVPN ads (00:42:15) Rapid fire presentation of Satochip and IVPN ads.Drivechains proposal and its drawbacks (00:43:20) The Drivechains proposal, its potential usefulness, and the technical details and drawbacks associated with it.Drivechains (00:44:19) Discussion on the activation of drivechains and the need to prove demand for their implementation.Mining and MEV (00:46:29) Exploration of miner extractable value (MEV) and its potential impact on Bitcoin's consensus and mining incentives.Covenants for Bitcoin (00:49:17) The need for covenants in Bitcoin to facilitate the development of sidechains, layer twos, and rollups.Activation Proposals (00:51:06) Debate over the activation of opcode proposals, such as OP_CTV and OP_CAT, and their implications for Bitcoin's development.Following Build on Bitcoin (00:52:47) How to keep up with the Build on Bitcoin project and relevant resources for learning about Bitcoin rollups.
ZK rollups are certainly promising, as they can bring scalability and privacy to Bitcoin. In this episode, Orkun Kilic talks about Citrea: the first protocol to enable ZK rollups on Bitcoin. He explains the advantages, the tradeoffs & why you should use.
Andrew Poelstra is a mathematician who heads the research department at Blockstream. Over the years, he experimented with many Bitcoin OP codes – some of which are also enabled on Liquid. In this episode, he explains why he likes and prefers OP_CAT.
Paul Sztorc returns with a twist: he's talking about sidechains, rollups, BitVM, Lightning, and ever other scaling solution... but can't say the words "Drivechain" or "BIP 300". If he breaks the rule, he must send a Lightning transaction and drink vodka.
Aaron van Wirdum is a veteran Bitcoin journalist who has been writing for Bitcoin Magazine since 2014. On January 3rd 2024, after nearly five years of working on this project, he launched The Genesis Book: a reflection on the history before Bitcoin.
Nicolas Dorier talks about the early days of BTCPay Server, activating SegWit before it was cool on NBitcoin, contributing to TumbleBit, writing a book about coding Bitcoin projects in C#, and working with colored coins.
Robin Linus revolutionized Bitcoin development in 2023 with BitVM: a virtual machine that can do off-chain computation for the purpose of enabling smart contracts. With it, Bitcoin can get trust minimized sidechains. But there are so many more uses cases!
Agustin Kassis & Mariano are Argentinian bitcoiners who work in a Fight Club-style house to build La Wallet: a Lightning wallet which is associated with a Nostr account and enables users to have both a payments card and a digital identity device.
Bitcoin & Friends was a pretty popular original cartoon back in 2019 and 2020. On January 3rd 2024, thanks to some major breakthroughs in animation software, the series is getting a reboot which takes the story to a whole new level. Stay tuned!
Tuur Demeester is a prominent Bitcoin investor who strongly believes in the power of Bitcoin-only companies. In this episode, he explains how and why he invests in Bitcoin projects, suggests when market tops are reached & comments on the Supra Cycle.
Kevin Loaec is the CEO of Wizardsardine – the Bitcoin company that builds Liana wallet, a powerful piece of software which optimizes for inheritance. In this episode, Kevin explains why miniscript matters & how he rates the most popular hardware wallets.
Ryan Condron has been a Bitcoin miner for longer than a decade. He started out with a GPU rack, upgraded his rig to FPGAs, and then was one of the first people to run ASICs. Today, he aims to decentralize hashrate with Lumerin – a hashrate marketplace.Ryan Condron has been mining Bitcoin for longer than a decade. In the beginning, he started out with a rack of video cards. Soon, he had to upgrade his hardware to include FPGAs. In less than a year, ASICs became a reality and every serious miner had to keep up.In this episode, Ryan Condron talks about his personal experience with Bitcoin mining and also presents the research he's done on the subject of decentralizing hash rate. Since hardware distribution and ownership is difficult to change, he decided to create Lumerin: a marketplace for hash rate, where people can take control of ASIC miners by renting them. This way, they don't only collect the mining rewards (as was the case with many cloud mining services). They also make decisions on behalf of the mining hardware to suit their financial interests and/or ideological beliefs.–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––Early Days of Bitcoin Mining (00:00:48) The conversation starts with the guest, Ryan Condron, discussing his early experience with Bitcoin mining in 2012 and the shift to mining altcoins.Rise of ASICs and Pooled Mining (00:03:23) The discussion shifts to the emergence of ASICs and the transition from solo mining to pooled mining, highlighting the centralization risks associated with mining hardware.Decentralization Challenges (00:05:34) The conversation delves into the challenges of maintaining decentralization in mining, the historical vision of mining, and the shift towards proof of stake in new projects.Evolution of Mining Hardware (00:06:44) The evolution from CPU to GPU to FPGA mining is discussed, along with the implications for decentralization and the development of new algorithms to resist ASICs.Efforts to Restore Satoshi's Vision (00:24:06) Ryan Condron introduces his paper on the decentralization of control and explores the challenges and solutions to restoring Satoshi's vision of decentralization in Bitcoin mining.Decentralizing Mining Devices (00:26:41) Discussion on decentralizing mining devices by allowing them to be sold on a decentralized marketplace, enabling global control and democratization.Decoupling Control and Ownership (00:27:52) Exploration of how separating control from ownership of mining devices can lead to more democratization in selecting mining pools and amassing hash power.Decentralized Marketplace for Hash Power (00:33:24) Explanation of how smart contracts enable the decentralized buying and selling of hash power on a global marketplace, revolutionizing the concept of a global commodities market.Lumerin Node Setup and Usage (00:34:53) Details on setting up and using the Lumen node for purchasing and streaming hash power, including considerations for device usage and availability.Expanding the Marketplace and Future Possibilities (00:40:11) Exploration of the potential for the Lumerin marketplace to trade various data streams beyond hash power, and the future possibility of launching the same marketplace on Bitcoin.Information and Personal Contact (00:41:02) Guidance on where to find more information about Lumen and how to follow the speaker personally.
Sergio Demian Lerner has made a plethora of contributions to Bitcoin: from finding early security bugs, and all the way to designing & launching the first sidechain RSK. In this interview, he talks about his work & research – with a focus on the future.
John Light, Super Testnet and Alexei Zamyatin are part of the new generation of Bitcoin developers. They like zero knowledge proofs, they're opinionated when defending covenants & they are not afraid to look for breakthroughs beyond the Bitcoin research.
Edan Yago talks about Sovryn: a financial application which allows users to take loans against their bitcoin. It's built on Rootstock (RSK, Bitcoin's first sidechain) and it conceptually goes against most mainstream narratives about what Bitcoin can do.
Alexis Roussel is a man of many talents, with plenty of accomplishments in his resume. But most notably, he is a bitcoiner who's working to build the Nym mixnet system and he's fighting for the rights of the individual in Switzerland.
Hernán Marino is an Argentinian bitcoiner who recently started contributing to Bitcoin Core. In this episode, he talks about his views on Bitcoin maximalism, what it's like to be a bitcoiner in a hyperinflationary country, and his hopes for the future.
Sergi Delgado is an engineer at Chaincode Labs, whose specialization and previous academic research is in peer to peer (P2P) networks. In this episode, he talks about his views on existing proposals to improve Bitcoin.In this podcast episode, Chaincode Labs engineer Sergi Delgado talks about Bitcoin development challenges, the Lightning network, and the importance of testing and security. Sergi talks about his lightning simulation software, SimLN, and its role in improving the lightning network's reliability. He addresses a recent LN vulnerability, the role of watchtowers, and the balance between decentralization, privacy, and user experience. The conversation also covers Bitcoin core development, skepticism towards altcoins and layer two solutions, and the complexities of protocol changes. Sergi emphasizes careful analysis when adding new features to Bitcoin and shares his positive experience working with the talented team at Chaincode Labs.
Wasabi Wallet now offers a "Buy Anything" button that lets you buy physical items with greater privacy?! How does that even work? ZK Snacks CEO Max Hillebrand & ShopInBit CEO Lando Rothbardian join the show to explain everything about this integration.
Bitcoin has recently fixed the presidential elections in Guatemala. How so? Rafael Cordon of Simple Proof is here to explain all about the power of OpenTimeStamps and how they can leverage the Bitcoin blockchain to prove that something really happened.(00:01:12) Rafael Cordon discusses the use of Bitcoin in the Guatemalan elections to prevent fraud and uphold the integrity of digital information.(00:03:39) Rafael explains the OpenTimeStamps protocol created by Peter Todd, which enables anyone to timestamp documents on the Bitcoin blockchain and store a hash using a Merkle tree.(00:08:47) Rafael describes how Simple Proof integrates with the preliminary result transmission system in the Guatemalan elections to timestamp the vote tally sheets on the Bitcoin blockchain, providing a way to verify the authenticity of the documents.(00:12:37) The discussion revolves around how Bitcoin can be used to prove the authenticity of voting information and debunk claims of tampering.(00:14:00) The conversation focuses on the benefits of using timestamping in elections, including cost savings, transparency, and the ability to reorganize elections if needed.(00:15:19) Rafael Cordon and Vlad discuss the potential applications of timestamping beyond elections, such as intellectual property, the justice system, and digital evidence.(00:23:33) Rafael Cordon explains how governments initially resisted adopting Bitcoin and cloud technologies, but later realized the benefits of using them for unalterable information and data storage.(00:24:55) Rafael Cordon suggests that using Bitcoin as a means to safeguard digital information can lead to a broader adoption of Bitcoin as a form of money.(00:26:31) We debate the use of NFTs and open timestamps to prove the authenticity and provenance of digital assets, such as artwork, and the potential for tracking the number of creations by famous artists.(00:35:36) Vlad and Rafael discuss the response from the Bitcoin community after an article was published detailing Bitcoin's role in the elections in Guatemala.(00:37:19) Vlad and Rafael Cordon talk about Carlinho's vision of using Bitcoin to bring together Central American countries under a unified currency.(00:42:39) Rafael describes the Bitcoin community in Guatemala, which includes startups addressing remittance use cases and the Bitcoin Lake experiment in Lake Atitlán. The speakers also express their preference for grassroots adoption over government imposition.(00:47:11) Discussion on the importance of legal interpretation and regulatory clarity for large corporations in adopting new technologies like Bitcoin. (00:48:11) Exploration of how startups have more room to maneuver and take risks due to the absence of specific laws regulating new technologies.(00:49:37) The significance of regulatory clarity in encouraging large corporations to adopt new technologies, with the example of El Salvador's legal recognition of Bitcoin.The Utopian Vision of Online Voting (00:59:10) Vlad Costea describes his initial enthusiasm for online voting and the belief that it would transform a broken representative democracy into a utopian direct democracy.Underutilized Technology and Consultancy Services (01:00:29) The Power of Open Timestamps (01:01:23)
Lea Petrasova is the president of the Vexl Foundation, one of the project's co-founders, and certainly one of the most ardent supporters of exchanging bitcoin in a peer to peer fashion. In this episode, she explains why you should consider using Vexl.Vexl: Introduction and Purpose (00:01:51) Lea Petrasova introduces Vexl as a mobile app that allows users to buy and sell Bitcoin peer-to-peer without going through a centralized exchange or even benevolent third party.Vexl: Comparison to Tinder (00:02:48) Lea explains that Vexl can be compared to Tinder, but users can only connect with people within their social circle, making it safer than meeting someone randomly.Vexl: Drawbacks of Other Peer-to-Peer Exchanges (00:04:04) Lea discusses the three major drawbacks of other peer-to-peer exchanges: global order book, reputation model, and usability.Real-world reputation in the app (00:12:17) Lea explains how Vexl brings users' real-world reputation into the app, allowing them to see common contacts and social circles when buying or selling Bitcoin.Using phone numbers as identifiers (00:15:27) Lea discusses why Vexl uses phone numbers as identifiers, highlighting their widespread usage and the ability to match users with contacts and contacts of contacts.Vexl's monetization model (00:16:54) Lea Petrasova explains that Vexl is a free, open-source project and a gift from Satoshi Labs to the community, with no plans for monetization or collecting fees from Bitcoin peer-to-peer trades.No fees, no data collection, and open-source(00:24:15)Lea Petrasova explains the absence of fees and data collection in Vexl, as well as its open-source nature.Expansion of Vexl to other markets and the gradual scaling process (00:25:45) Lea discusses the expansion of Vexl to other markets, such as Germany, Austria, Switzerland, the UK, and Italy, and the gradual scaling process observed in these territories.Usability improvements and new features planned for Vexl (00:26:59) Lea Petrasova highlights the focus on improving usability and adding new features to Vexl, such as a trade calculator and better map functionality.Vexl and Chill (00:36:47) Lea discusses how buying bitcoin through Vexl eliminates the complexities and concerns associated with centralized exchanges.The Origin of Vexl (00:38:15) Lea explains that the term "vexl" dates back to communist Europe and refers to proxy merchants who exchanged foreign currencies.The Importance of Peer-to-Peer and No KYC (00:43:40) Lea emphasizes the need for peer-to-peer transactions without KYC requirements to maintain the financial sovereignty and intended purpose of Bitcoin.
Firefish enables people to borrow fiat money against their bitcoins in a trust-minimized way, using a multisig setup with oracles. Martin and Igor, the two FireFish co-founders, talk about how and why you should be using their service.Firefish: A New Use Case for Bitcoin as Collateral (00:01:54)Discussion on how Firefish is using Bitcoin as collateral for loans and expanding the use cases for Bitcoin.Firefish: Non-Custodial Platform and Peer-to-Peer Marketplace (00:04:29)Explanation of how Firefish is a non-custodial platform and operates as a peer-to-peer marketplace for Bitcoin-backed loans.Firefish's technical details (00:09:26)Explanation of the technical aspects of Firefish, including the use of multi-sig and the different roles in the contract, such as borrower, lender, liquidator, payment oracle, and price oracle.The Zombie Apocalypse Transaction (00:11:55)Discussion about a transaction with a time lock that allows users to recover their bitcoin in the event of a zombie apocalypse.How Oracles Work (00:12:30)Explanation of how oracles function in the Bitcoin network and their role in verifying Firefish transactions.Firefish's Target Audience and Use Cases (00:16:01)Discussion about the target audience for the Firefish platform, including bitcoiners, institutions holding bitcoin, and traditional finance entities interested in funding bitcoin-backed loans.Dispute Resolution Rules (00:23:41)Discussion on the dispute resolution rules in Firefish platform for resolving conflicts between borrowers and lenders in fiat transactions.Changing Perspective of Traditional Finance (00:28:30)Exploration of how Firefish platform allows non-bitcoin native entities to become lenders and how it changes their perception of bitcoin.Open Source Code (00:32:28)Importance of open source code in Firefish platform for security and user trust, with plans to make the code open source in the future.KYC and Anonymity (00:34:00)Discussion about the need for KYC (Know Your Customer) in the banking system and the challenges of maintaining anonymity when dealing with fiat currency.Implementing Stablecoins (00:38:10)Consideration of implementing stablecoins as an option, discussing the trade-off between convenience and privacy/risk for users.
Lisa Neight (creator of the Base58 Bitcoin academy) and Calle (creator of Cashu) joined the Bitcoin Takeover podcast during the Hackers Congress in Prague. They speak about free open source software, popular Bitcoin scaling solutions, cars & more!
The 11th edition of Labitconf takes place in Buenos Aires this year, just a week before the final round of the presidential elections in Argentina. Rodolfo Andragnes tells us all about the event & his hopes for a libertarian president like Javier Milei.
Philipp Hoenisch is the founder of 101010: a project which aims to create synthetic bitcoin-backed stablecoins on top of the Lightning network. These stablecoins aim to minimize trust, as there's no central issuer or institution in the middle.
Phil Zimmermann is the creator of PGP & the cryptographer who made it safe to publish cryptography projects on the internet. In this episode, Mr. Zimmermann talks about Bitcoin, his opinion on various cryptography projects & his friendship with Hal Finney.This episode is sponsored by Wasabi wallet, Cryptosteel, Satodime, and ShopInBit.Time stamps:The cypherpunk movement in the 1990s [00:02:47] Discussion about Phil Zimmermann's involvement with the cypherpunk scene and his ideological alignment with their policies.The motivation behind making PGP open source [00:07:30] Exploration of Phil Zimmermann's reasons for making PGP open source, including the desire for extensive peer review and the benefits of strong encryption software.The impact of PGP on the development of cryptography protocols [00:10:47] Phil Zimmermann discusses how the publication of PGP, including its source code, taught many people how to do public key cryptography in software and contributed to the emergence of various protocols.Hal Finney and Tom Hanks [00:13:11] Discussion about the potential casting of Tom Hanks to play Hal Finney in a movie.Hal Finney's Role in PGP Development [00:13:36] Exploration of Hal Finney's contribution to the development of PGP and the trust model implementation.Proof of Work and Penny Black Project [00:14:20] Explanation of proof of work and its use in solving the double spending problem and reducing email spam through the Penny Black project.17:48 – Did Phil Zimmermann ever think about inventing Bitcoin?19:13 – Silent Phone.20:40 – Encryption is fast.22:45 – When did Phil Zimmermann hear about Bitcoin for the first time?24:07 – Is Phil Zimmermann proud of enabling Bitcoin?24:44 – Phil Zimmermann's disappointment about Bitcoin.Improving Bitcoin and Carbon Footprint [00:26:39] Discussion on ideas for improving Bitcoin, particularly in relation to reducing its carbon footprint.David Chaum's Ideas and Patents [00:29:47] Conversation about David Chaum's ideas and patents, and their impact on the acceptance and development of electronic cash, including Bitcoin.End-to-End Encryption and National Security [00:32:49] Exploration of the importance of end-to-end encryption for preserving democracy and national security, particularly in the context of networks controlled by potentially adversarial entities like China.
Michael Bumann (aka Bumi) is a Lightning network developer best known for working on Joule and creating Alby. Today, Alby is one of the most popular wallets for sending and receiving Nostr zaps. In this episode, he explains more about his work & vision.
In this episode, Paul Sztorc reacts to 3 of the most significant reactions to Drivechains: Shinobi's article from Bitcoin Magazine, the Baltic Honeybadger 2023 panel which mostly covered Drivechains, and his Tabconf 2023 debate with Peter Todd.
For the past 4 years, Sam Lee has been the main organizer of the Bitcoin meetup in Hong Kong. In this episode, Sam tells us what it's like to be a bitcoiner in Hong Kong and how the experience differs from the one in Mainland China.
At Baltic Honeybadger 2023, BTCPay server announced a new mobile app which will run LDK/Spiral software in the background to make the merchant experience as simple as can get. In this drunkast with Pavlenex, Kukks & Anna, they explain how it all works.
In the middle of a more aggressive campaign to promote a soft fork that enables two-way pegged sidechains via BIP 300/301, Layer Two Labs CEO Paul Sztorc has been accused of attacking Bitcoin and being the new Mike Hearn. But are Drivechains that bad?
Jameson Lopp, popular cypherpunk and and advocate for anarcho-capitalism, makes his Bitcoin Takeover podcast debut to talk about his work at Casa, self-custody, his views on Bitcoin maximalism, and why it's important to test your backup devices.
Fadi Barbàra is a researcher from the University of Turin who works on Bitcoin privacy. His new project, DMix, promises to offer better privacy than CoinJoins by integrating a pre-mix transaction that makes use of Taproot multisigs.
Martin Habovštiak is a cypherpunk from Slovakia, best known for contributing with code to many open source Bitcoin projects (Electrum Rust, BTCPay, Bitcoin Core, LND, Phoenix Wallet). He also co-founded Paralelna Polis in Bratislava & coded Firefish.
Mike in Space is the creator of STAMPs: a protocol which inserts permanent data into Bitcoin blocks. STAMPs are mostly used to immortalize art on Bitcoin, but this use case is so heavily criticized by some community members that they call it an attack.
Ben Arc is one of the most prolific builders in Bitcoin. He created LNBits – a simple Lightning wallet project which seeks to be the Wordpress of Bitcoin thanks to its modularity and openness to plugins. Ben is also one of the founding fathers of Nostr.
Full RBF is one of the most controversial topics in Bitcoin. On one side, RBF creator Peter Todd lobbies for the feature to become a standard. On the other side, Bitrefill CEO Sergej Kotliar thinks RBF is bad for business. This is the RBF debate.
Matej Zak is the new CEO of Trezor. In his first English podcast appearance as CEO, he talks about Trezor's upcoming hardware wallets, the status of Tropic Square chips, controversies concerning the Wasabi CoinJoin integration & his views on adoption.
MercuryWallet mastermind Nicholas Gregory & former Paxful CEO Ray Youssef have joined forces to create Civ Kit: a peer to peer marketplace framework which is built on top of Nostr & enables anyone to do commerce with great scalability & advanced relaying.
While trying to improve on some of the Lightning Network's shortcomings, Burak Keceli created Ark: a Bitcoin second layer which offers privacy, speed & a user experience which resembles that of the main chain. In this episode, he explains how Ark works.
Hero of Bitcoin aims to create and launch a Bitcoin-themed video game for the Gameboy. In this episode, the game's creator talks about the development process and all the hidden Easter eggs which relate to Bitcoin culture. Support the game on Geyser!
Michele Morucci (also known as MetaMick) is the CEO and co-founder of Geyser: a fundraising platform which empowers creators in the Bitcoin space to crowdfund their projects via Lightning Network. In this episode, Michele tells us everything about Geyser.
Aljaz Ceru is the CEO and co-founder of Bolt.Observer: a service which helps Lightning network node runners with management and monitoring tools. In this episode, he offers some advice on what mistakes you should avoid when managing your home node.
Opening Lightning Network channels with WBTC and DeFi money from Ethereum? Creating a DAO to pay participants who make the Lightning Network more reliable? This sounds blasphemous, but it's what the Stroom Network aims to do. Slava & Nick explain it all.
Ever heard of the Polish-made BiFury USB ASIC miners? That's only one of Filip Pawczyński's OG contributions to Bitcoin mining. In this episode, Filip reminisces about the early days of Bitcoin mining and comments on the industrialization of mining.
During Bitcoin FilmFest in Warsaw, I had the pleasure to interview three members of LOLA (Ladies of Liberty Alliance) Poland. In this episode, you can hear Justyna Piątek-Pawłowska, Agnieszka Plonka & Tania Rak talk about freedom, Ayn Rand & Bitcoin.
Matyáš Kuchař is the co-founder and main organizer of BTC Prague: Europe's largest Bitcoin conference, which promises to bring together more than 10.000 attendees and some of the finest speakers in the space. Here's why you should buy a ticket to Prague.
Hampus Sjöberg is the creator and lead developer of Blixt – a versatile & feature-packed Lightning Network wallet which he builds according to his own perfectionist expectations. In this interview, we talk about Blixt & unpopular opinions about Bitcoin.
Martijn Wismeijer became an international media sensation in 2014 when he implanted an NFC chip in his hand to access his Bitcoin wallet with greater ease. Today, he is in charge of GeneralBytes' marketing department, pushing for wider Bitcoin adoption.
Emzy is a long-time bitcoiner who contributes to the space by running independent nodes and servers. He is also one of the first people to run their own mempool.space client. In this episode, he shares some of his experiences with working in Bitcoin.
Nick Hansen is the CEO of Luxor Mining – a pool which, at the time of this recording, was the 6th biggest in the world. In this interview, we talk about Bitcoin mining, Luxor's business model & Nick's strange fascination with ordinal inscriptions.
Tomek Kolodziejczuk and Pierre Corbin are the masterminds behind Bitcoin FilmFest – an artistic event which celebrates Bitcoin's cinematic culture in the heart of Europe (Warsaw, Poland, March 24-26 2023). In this episode, they explain why you should join
MercuryWallet is one of the most remarkable achievements in Bitcoin privacy. By virtue of Statechains, users can swap UTXOs without leaving any traces. More recently, CommerceBlock wants to bring Mercury to mobile devices with some cool Lightning features
ShopInBit is the online store that lets you use your bitcoin to buy laptops, phones, watches & thousands of other items. In this episode, Lawrence Rothbardian & Travin Keith explain how they made it all happen & why you should use your BTC for shopping.
Casey Rodarmor took the Bitcoin world by storm when he launched Ordinals: a modern and simplified approach to Colored Coins which lets anyone upload files to the Bitcoin blockchain to create digital artifacts (inscriptions). But what are the pros & cons?
Since launching in October 2018, Wasabi wallet positioned itself at the avant-garde of Bitcoin privacy. Almost 5 years later, Nopara73 reflects on the ideas and research that led to the creation of Wasabi, and also makes some predictions for the future.
Fedimint provides an easy way for people to create Chaumian mints using bitcoin – basically community banks which offer speed, scalability & privacy at the expense of trusting the bankers. In this episode, Eric Sirion and Obi Nwosu explain how it works.
After Wasabi 2.0 launched, what's next for Bitcoin privacy? Max Hillebrand, CEO of ZK Snacks (the company which develops Wasabi) tells us why the Wabisabi protocol is such a big deal, what kind of challenges lie ahead & what is on the development roadmap.
Mike Jarmuz is a Bitcoin VC, best known as a co-founder of Lightning Ventures. However, in this interview we don't talk about any of that. Instead, we express our mutual love for Bob Dylan's music and share experiences from various concerts we attended.
Bumbee is the Bitcoin version of content monetization platforms such as Patreon & OnlyFans. It offers lower fees, a better form of money that can't be censored & the promise of fairness. In this episode, Chris (OB_HODL) explains how Bumbee helps creators.
Viktor Vecsei is the COO of IVPN – a VPN service which takes privacy very seriously and also accepts payments via on-chain bitcoin and Lightning. In this episode, Viktor talks about what VPN services do, explains their limitations & compares their offers
Max Keidun is best known as a contributor to HodlHodl and co-organizer of the Baltic Honeybadger conference. But this year in Riga, he announced a new project: DebiFi, a bitcoin lending aggregator which helps take loans & borrow money without custodians.
Max Hampshire is responsible for developer relations at Nym – an internet privacy project which makes use of Chaumian mixnets in order to break the link between data packets. It's one of the most promising projects & definitely one worth learning about.
Kristaps Kaupe (Lord Kristaps) is an open source contributor who works on a handful of Bitcoin projects. Most notably, he is a maintainer of JoinMarket & a contributor to Bitcoin Core, RaspiBolt & SatSale. In this episode, he talks about privacy & more.
On the last day of Baltic Honeybadger 2022, BIP 300 creator and advocate Paul Sztorc joins the show to provide a summary of his two panels on Drivechaina and unpopular Bitcoin opinions. When he doesn't explain technical concepts, Paul makes funny jokes.
This interview is the result of 2 separate recordings which took place in August and October 2022: in the first one, Christian Rootzoll talks about what's new with RaspiBlitz. In the second part, Matthew Croughan joins to talk about integrating NixOS.
Lisa Neigut (@niftynei) works on Lightning network projects at Blockstream. In this interview, she provides some practical advice on running your own Core Lightning node on a home device. Also, she explains what happened to LND lately.
Dr. Maxim Orlovsky is the lead developer of RGB: a layer 3 protocol that's built on top of the Lightning Network which aims to make it easy for anyone to issue tokens, stablecoins & NFTs in a scalable client side-validated way.
During Hackers Congress 2022, after longer than a year of exchanging messages and planning, I finally managed to interview Ben de Waal about his left anarchist political views. Spontaneously, Alexandra Moxin & Karo Zagorus also decided to join.
Labitconf is Bitcoin's own Lollapalooza – this is how Rodolfo Andragnes describes the event that he created. In November 2022, Labitconf celebrates its 10th annual anniversary, with a football world cup-themed return to the home country of Argentina.
Rahim Taghizadegan is an actual Austrian economist who teaches economics in Austria and founded his own university to preserve the tradition – Scholarium. In this episode, he explains the nuances of Bitcoin's cult-like culture & how he sees the future.
This year's Adopting Bitcoin conference from El Salvador will happen thanks to the efforts of Kemal and Noor. In this episode, they explain the progress that the country has made in the year that has passed since it adopted Bitcoin as legal tender.
Amir Taaki joined Bitcoin in late 2010, and is responsible for creating the BIP system, the first alternative Bitcoin client (libbitcoin), and the first privacy-focused wallet (DarkWallet). In this interview, he reflects on the early days of Bitcoin.
Electrum is the most feature-rich Bitcoin wallet, and creator Thomas Voegtlin has been adding improvements to it since 2011. Right now, Thomas is making the Lightning Network accessible with Trampoline nodes that don't need to be online 24/7.
After having had enough from the authoritarians, longtime bitcoiner Bruce Fenton has decided to take matters into his own hands and run for the US Senate to represent New Hampshire. In this interview, he explains why & gives us an insight of his platform
Recently, Peter Todd published a mathematical paper to explain how tail emission could work om Bitcoin. In this episode, he gets to explain why he thinks inflation is necessary to secure the Bitcoin network as the mining rewards get halved every 4 years.
As the CEO of Bitrefill, Sergej Kotliar has been offering a steady, predictable, reliable & seemingly-boring service for 7 years. However, Bitrefill is anything but boring: these days, the gift card company is trying to save the bankers & make NBA shoes!
Pavol Rusnak (Stick) is one of the most prolific contributors in the Bitcoin space. Since creating the Trezor hardware wallet with his friend Slush, he worked tirelessly to create open source standards that make using BTC more secure and private.
Joseph Tetek (SatsJoseph) is a well-known Bitcoin educator, author, and content producer from the Czech Republic. In this episode, he talks about his work at Satoshi Labs, some upcoming Trezor projects, and what it's like to promote Bitcoin in Czech.
Sodomak is a cryptoanarchist who formerly worked as the CTO of Paralelni Polis in Prague. In this interview, he talks about the philosophical values of Paralelni Polis, the cafe's origins, and how it provides Bitcoin education to every customer.
CommerceBlock CEO Nicholas Gregory is one of the engineering masterminds behind Mercury Wallet: a Bitcoin wallet which makes use of Statechains and provides privacy via CoinSwaps. In this interview, Nicholas talks about making bitcoin work as money.
Initially, extension blocks & Mimble Wimble were Bitcoin proposals for scalability & privacy. But now that Litecoin married the two with MWEB via soft fork, Charlie Lee explains if & how we can have this solution type of solution added into Bitcoin.
In the heart of Budapest, there is this shrine of Bitcoin culture where you can taste the poison of strong liquors, boost your energy level with a copy, and pay your bill with BTC. In this episode, I interview Bitcoin Bar co-owner Adam.
Lipa is a Swiss-made open source project which aims to provide an easy way for small businesses (restaurants, bars, clubs) to accept bitcoin payments via Lightning network. In this episode, co-founders Adrian, Patrick, and Bastian explain how Lipa works.
Bleskomat is an open source project which aims to create a universally accessible Bitcoin ATM that swaps your dirty fiat currency for BTC via Lightning network. In this episode, co-founders Karliatto and Chill explain how their ATM works.
This season premiere is all about promoting the ethos of free open source software. Pavlenex and Kykks from BTCPay Server, accompanied by Mempool.space mastermind Soft Simon talk about their work and advice newcomers about the challenges of Bitcoin FOSS.
Rare Scrilla (formerly known as JScrilla) is a hip hop artist, music producer, and on of the most celebrated Bitcoin artists around. In this episode, Scrilla expresses his love for frogs, Bitcoin's Counterparty protocol, and the DJPEPE cards.
Joe Looney and Shawn Leary were there when the first Rare Pepe card was created. And as true scientists, they instantly started contributing with both art and infrastructure. In this episode, they talk about frog memes and the history of Counterparty.
Giacomo Zucco did to Bitcoin maximalism what Elvis Presley has done to rock n roll: he didn't invent it, but he popularized it to the masses. And when Counterparty and Omni are making a comeback while Stacks rises, it is his duty to rate their scamminess.
Harry Halpin is a privacy lover and freedom advocate who embarked on an ambitious journey to create a better Tor, which is actually decentralized and provides incentives. The name of his project is Nym & it makes use of mixnets to prevent traffic analysis
When I first met Yuval in November 2021, he was working to improve the Wabisabi protocol, trying to make Bitcoin transactions truly private. In this episode, we talks about both the innovations and challenges that we must face to attain fungibility.
Nik Oraevskiy is the CEO & co-founder of Bitcoin Reserve – a European non-custodial Bitcoin exchange which looks into adding all sorts of features & integrations (including Lightning, Liquid, and auto DCA). In this episode, we talk about keeping it real.
Lucas Ontivero is Nopara's first employee at Wasabi wallet. As a matter of fact, when he joined it wasn't even called Wasabi: the first name was Hidden Wallet. In this episode, Lucas talks about Bitcoin privacy research & the Wabisabi CoinJoin protocol.
Juan Galt is a Bitcoin journalist and consultant who decided to go full-time Rare Pepe scientist. He sees historical value in Bitcoin (Counterparty) NFTs & also considers that we're witnessing the dawn of a new asset class. But is it really this bullish?
Chris DeRose joins the Bitcoin Takeover podcast for the 3rd time to talk about how he has been right all along about Counterparty, why he's never selling his Rare Pepes, and to which extent web 3 is a scam. Watch out for the rare DEROSEHEAD NFT cards!
If you spend more than 10 minutes in the Bitcoin Counterparty NFT realm, you're gonna hear about Spells of Genesis, Rare Pepes & SaruTobi. Well, this episode's guests are the OGs who created them & envisioned using blockchain assets as video game items.
Theo Goodman is a man of many talents: he writes, records, and produces music videos about Bitcoin, he draws frog memes, and also gives talks at conferences. Theo was one of the earliest Rare Pepe scientists. In this episode, he shares his wisdom.
Bitcoin and DeFi certainly don't sound like they belong in the same sentence. But cypherpunk Eric Martindale, accompanied by community builder and Silicon Valley BTC meetup organizer George Burke, are creating Portal: DeFi on Bitcoin layer 3.
Satoshi Sound is a co-producer of the Bitcoin & Friends animated show. Having joined the Bitcoin space in 2013, he is also involved in mining and has a background in gold. In this episode, we talk about all of these topics and give away some spoilers.
When he began researching Bitcoin, David St-Onge decided to purchase and read some of the most popular books on the topic. In this interview, he rates the one that he liked the most and makes recommendations about where you should begin your journey.
For most of his life, Max Hilleband has been an avid reader of Austrian Economics. So when the El Salvador bitcoin adoption as legal tender was announced, he couldn't help but express his perspective on the praxeological & human action implications.
In this episode, Kenichi Kurimoto & Hitomi Moriyama talk about the useful Bitcoin Lightning tools that Nayuta builds, and also comment on contemporary issues which range from monetary inflation in Japan to Bitcoin nodes and layer 3 applications.
While most Bitcoin podcast interviews feature people who agree on almost every topic, this discussion with Knut Svanholm feels much more like a debate where we have opposing views. We talk about El Salvador, the state of sovereignty & why BTC is bullish.
Thanks to the marvels of digital audio editing, I present you the uncompromising version of my interview with Chris DeRose. The sound quality is better & I've also restored some previously lost parts of our dialogue. Bitcoin Uncensored fans will love it!
Ben Arc likes to call himself an anarchist. Yet unlike most bitcoiners, he doesn't subscribe to the anarcho-capitalist school of thought. Instead, he belongs to the original Proudhon left-wing tradition and Hegelian dialectics.
Start9 Labs CEO Matt Hill explains why it's important to manage your entire digital sovereignty with simple yet powerful open source software. Embassy OS, a Raspberry Pi operating system, offers a Bitcoin & Lightning node, plus other useful applications.
In his attempt to create prediction markets to fix our democracies, Paul Sztorc has decided to also spend some time trying to expand Bitcoin's sidechain layers with his BIP 300 Drivechain proposal. In this episode, he explains how & why he wants to do it.
What is anarcho-capitalism? Is it really an evil corporate environment? Who builds the roads and how will people resolve disputes in the absence of a central government? Joshua Scigala imagines a world that's based on peace & free markets.
Vlad Zamfir is known as an independent thinker who is often perceived as dangerously blasphemous by his critics. In this episode, we talk about the philosophy of absurdism, CBDCs, privacy, immutability, code is law, and Nick Szabo's legacy.
KeyStone is the new Cobo Vault – except that lots of improvements have been brought and there are further software upgrades in the making. So in this episode, KeyStone CEO Lixin Liu tells us about his new hardware wallet & why it's better than Cobo.
Today, the once-outspoken Bitcoin Uncensored co-host Chris DeRose is unusually reclusive. But in spite of his apparent demoralization, he is as sharp and candid as ever – and any match with him is still a no holds barred. Hope you'll enjoy this long one!
Max Hillebrand is a Bitcoin and privacy advocate whose contributions to Wasabi Wallet have helped integrate hardware wallet functionality and lots of other cool features. In this episode he talks about hardware wallets, privacy & the future of Wasabi.
Stepan Snigirev is the creator of Specter Wallet, one of the best and most-user friendly solutions to set up multisigs on Bitcoin. He is also the mastermind behind Specter DIY, a hardware wallet that you can build yourself from general-purpose parts.
Featuring Bitcoin-related songs by Czino, Richard La, DJ J Scrilla, Phil Gibson, Crypto Contagion, Renegade Investor, Vlad Costea, Zhou Tonged, Lord Snooty of Bitcoin, Cryptoraptor, Pleb Music, and Guywithafork. Sponsored by Vaultoro & BitBox02!
The Seedsigner is a unique DIY hardware wallet that anyone can build from a Raspberry Pi Zero. And in this episode, Mr. Seedsigner explains to us how the device works and why bitcoiners should build one to validate their own transactions.
Ben Arc describes himself as an open source hobbyist. Yet in spite of his humble introduction, he built the open-source Bowser hardware wallet and is also one of the lead developers of LNBits – a useful Lightning Network tool.
Slush talks about the next Trezor hardware wallet: a device that's going to benefit from the Tropic Square open source secure element chip, but also add a few extra features. Also, the Satoshi Labs CEO presents some important security tips.
Since launching in February 2020, the second generation Cobo Vault has grown considerably on Western markets and has added lots of interesting features. In this episode, Lixin Liu talks about the pros and cons of this air-gapped approach to managing coins
Lazy Ninja is a security expert whose claim to fame in the Bitcoin space is hacking the Coldcard and the BitBox02 hardware wallets. In this episode, we talk about the latest trends in BTC security, including multisig, new devices & CoinJoins.
Zach Herbert is the CEO of Foundation Devices – a company that is about to ship the first batch of the Passport, a new user-friendly and Bitcoin-centric hardware wallet. In this interview, Zack talks about the elements that make the Passport unique.
In January 2021, Blockstream took the Bitcoin world by surprise by announcing the Jade hardware wallet – a powerful and inexpensive device. In this episode, Blockstream Chief Architect Lawrence Nahum explains how Jade works and what it aims to accomplish.
In this episode, ShapeShift CEO Erik Voorhees talks about the KeepKey hardware wallet, the power of open source software, and the importance of self-custody. As a Bitcoin veteran, Voorhees also reminiscences about the most popular wallets from the 2010s.
Charles Guillemet is the CTO of Ledger, the market leader in the field of Bitcoin hardware wallets. In this episode we talk about Ledger's philosophy for security, innovation, and how the Ledger Nano X compares to Trezor, BitBox, Coldcard and others.
Benma is a software developer and researcher who works on the BitBox02 hardware wallet. In this episode, he talks about the qualities that make the BitBox02 unique, and how the device compares to other competing hardware wallets (Trezor, Ledger, Coldcard)
Atlas (@ancapchildren) first rose to Bitcoin prominence after American Hodl started a campaign to turn him into a wholecoiner. Almost a year later, Atlas is still holding onto that bitcoin he received and keeps his strong conviction.
Giacomo Zucco and Mir are the Bitcoin power couple in its purest and best-intentioned form. You'd think that they wouldn't have much to say outside of Bitcoin, but as soon as you ask them questions they will keep on talking for 2 hours straight!
Hodlonaut & Katia are one of Bitcoin's most popular and beloved couples. But when they don't run the Citadel21 operations, they watch 1980s films and enjoy electronic music. In this episode, they talk about their preferences & express their cat-like views
Koleya Karringten is best known in the Bitcoin space for her executive director role in the Canadian Blockchain Consortium. But her main job involves designing combustion heating systems for aviation and construction.
Most people know Charlie Lee as the creator of Litecoin or one of the major investors in Bitcoin companies. But in this episode, Charlie talks about his love for video games and Star Wars. We go way back to the days of the NES & 1990s PC gaming!
When he doesn't do Bitcoin stuff, John Carvalho enjoys writing and listening to music, as well as playing video games. In this episode, the Lightning business developer that nobody asks for tells more about how he almost became a rockstar.
Car Golzalez is best known for doing Bitcoin-related research during his Thriller Podcast. But in his spare time, he enjoys listening to Bob Dylan albums and has some very interesting opinions on some of the more obscure and underrated albums.
SpaceBull is best known as the creative director of Bull Bitcoin. But in his spare time, he enjoys pushing his creative boundaries and taking inspiration from the voluptuous beauty of women. Also, SpaceBull is a big fan of the Motorola RAZR.
When asked to described himself in a phrase, Unhashed Podcast co-host Mario Gibney said "Super Mario likes eating his mushroom". In this episode, we talk about psychedelics, video games, and the addiction factor involved in both.
In an adversarial environment in which bitcoin and gold compete for the best store of value, Joshua Scigala sees potential in both and supports them equally. In this episode, we diverge a little bit from the usual monetary topics to get philosophical.
Colin Aulds is best known as the CEO of Billfodl and Privacy Pros. But in his spare time, he enjoys playing video games and studying the history of the USSR. In this episode, we get to learn a little bit about these obscure yet intricate sides of Colin.
Stephen Chow stands out in the Bitcoin space as the individual who enjoys supporting living artists. And he does it by financing them so they can do the masterpieces they envision. In this episode, we talk about the state of arts, patronage & video games.
Joshua Scigala has been searching for Bitcoin long before it was actually launched. And as a gold enthusiast, he has always seen the two scarce commodities as complimentary assets. In this episode, the Vaultoro CEO talks about his Bitcoin journey.
In his second appearance in the Bitcoin Takeover Podcast, John Carvalho explains why the Lightning Network is ready and what we can do to help it reach its full potential. We don't just talk about technology, we try to change the culture and explain why.
In this Paralelni Polis 2020 interview, Jonas Nick from Blockstream, Peter Todd and Alekos Filini talk about Schnorr Signatures, Taproot, NixOS, the Lightning Network, Multisigs, CoinJoins, and everything great happening in Bitcoin development.
Pavol Luptak is an ethical hacker and cryptoanarchist who has been involved in the Bitcoin space since 2010. In this episode, he talks about the upcoming Paralelni Polis conference and tells stories about his experience with organizing HCPP.
Jarret Dyrbye (known on Twitter as JD2983) first rose to Bitcoin prominence as the developer of forkdrop.io. But after the Lightning Network launched, he started working on interesting Lapps such as Sparkshot & Socket Money.
Max Hillebrand has really left his mark in the Bitcoin space by actively financing initiatives to increase the currency's privacy and by his direct contributions to Wasabi Wallet. In this interview, he talks about his work & aspirations.
Stadicus is a hero of individual sovereignty: he became known in the Bitcoin space for his RaspiBolt guides to run a full Bitcoin and Lightning node, and he also works for ShiftCrypto trying to push the boundaries of privacy and security.
Justin Wales is a pioneer in the field of Bitcoin law: not only that he works with Carlton Fields clients who are deal with Bitcoin, but he also advocates for the Bitcoin network's status as a free speech medium.
Luis Ploennig is the growth director of Indacoin – a company which focuses on spreading Bitcoin adoption in places whose fiat currencies are more volatile than BTC. We talk about the different standards & how BTC is perceived by those who need it the most
Crypto Coder Bob is best known in the Bitcoin community for helping others become first class citizens by running full nodes, but also his recent Dave Portnoy-related memes which culminated with the creation of a creative bingo card.
Konikko Trader first rose to Bitcoin prominence after writing an article titled "Guide to Soviet Past" in the magazine Citadel21. In this episode he talks about life in Russia, democracy, capitalism & trading Bitcoin.
For years, Arthur van Pelt has been gathering evidence to prove that Craig Wright's claims are backed by forgeries and false statements. In this episode, the Dutchman explains how and why he does it.
Matthew Haywood has been a software developer for 20 years, and has worked for Blockstream since 2017. As the Liquid Securities expert, he understand the dynamics and tradeoffs of Blockstream's sidechain project and explains them accordingly.
Libbitcoin developer Eric Voskuil talks about the breakthroughs he made as a coder and his affinity and understanding of Austrian economics. Furthermore, he provides information about his Cryptoeconomics book & answers questions from Twitter followers.
May 7th 2020 has marked the global release of Torsten Hoffmann's second documentary about Bitcoin, titled "Cryptopia: Bitcoin, Blockchains, and the Future of the Internet". In this interview, he talks about some highlights from the film.
Wasabi Wallet creator and lead developer explains how P2EP (Pay to End Point) can make blockchain analysis obsolete, but also expresses his views on Bitcoin security and why you probably shouldn't use Samourai Wallet.
Alessandro Cecere is a bitcoiner from Venezuela who is very passionate about Bitcoin full nodes. As the CEO and founder of Coinspree, he is looking into the most interesting and promising ways of protecting financial sovereignty with dedicated hardware.
As a long-time bitcoiner, Francis Pouliot is both excited about the innovations coming to Bitcoin and conservative about his way of maintaining personal security. In this episode, he reveals his personal philosophy and future plans.
Venezuelan bitcoiner Javier Bastardo reveals what it's like to spread BTC education in a country which launched its official shitcoin, and offers some tips to better protect oneself from state actors.
Leo Wandersleb is a developer at MyCelium wallet. In his spare time, he created Wallet Scrutiny: a platform which classifies Android Bitcoin wallets on the basis of their open sourceness & verifiability.
Bobby Lee talks about Ballet Wallet, his return to the real Bitcoin, meeting Bruce Willis, debating Nouriel Roubini, and onboarding nocoiners with a skewmorphic object that they can understand.
On April 14th 2020, JScrilla releases "Sound Money" – an independent hip hop album which tells the story of Bitcoin by using various voices of famous people who spoke about internet money over the past decade. This interview reveals more details.
Phemex CEO Jack Tao talks about his journey from Morgan Stanley to Bitcoin, and explains why he enjoys the decentralized world.
Coinkite CEO Rodolfo Novak talks about the security problems that the Coldcard Wallet solves and why the product has an edge on the competition.
Cobo Vault creator Lixin Liu talks about building a hardware wallet for Chinese miners and branching out to reach the Western markets.
Slush, inventor of both the world's first mining pool and hardware wallet, talks about his work on the Trezor products and why good and transparent software is more important than physical security.
Cypherpunk Peter Todd talks about his criticism of hardware wallet devices, and explains the thought process that helps him critically assess whether or not something is secure.
JW Weatherman talks about the security of hardware wallets, why he likes multisig setups, and why he doesn't think storing private keys on a metal plate is a good idea.
Billfodl co-founder Bryan Aulds talks about the importance of cold storage and how metal plates play an important role in securing the private keys for your bitcoins.
Ledger Head of Innovation BTChip (Nicolas Bacca) has a lengthy experience in secure devices and cryptography. In this episode, he talks about the qualities of the Ledger Nano hardware wallets and the future plans for improvements (PSBT, CoinJoin & more)
Lazy Ninja (@FreedomIsntSafe) is known in the hardware wallet community for hacking the Coldcard and the BitBox02. In this episode, he talks about hardware wallet security.
Shift Crypto Creators Douglas Bakkum and Jonas Schnelli talks about the BitBox02 hardware wallet and what makes it special. They also address good security practices and explain where they position themselves on the market.
ShapeShift COO Jon explains why the KeepKey hardware wallet is special, and presents its main features.
Christian CK, co-host of the POV Crypto Podcast, talks about the purpose of shitcoins and why individual sovereignty matters.
Long-time bitcoiner Ragnar Lifthasir talks about onboarding the Lightning Network, how, when and why he got into Bitcoin, and some mental issues that Bitcoin may fix.
Prominent sat stacker American HODL talks about his eternal riches, the life lessons he's learned along the way, and why he's so bullish on Bitcoin. He also does a lengthy Q&A and stacks 3 million sats.
Bitcoin Magazine journalist Colin Harper talks about his experience in the space, how he started out as a shitcoiner, and why he thinks left-wing individuals should also be involved in Bitcoin.
Austrian Bitcoiner Gigi talks about his understanding of economics, why he agrees with Ralph Merkle's theory that Bitcoin is a living organism, and the reasons why he's optimistic about BTC's future.
American bitcoiner TruthRaider talks about his hypothesis regarding Satoshi Nakamoto's identity, which involves Paul Le Roux. Also, he talks about Bitcoin adoption worldwide and the situation in Turkey.
Carlos Roldan is the lead developer of Lightning-powered video game platform Satoshi's Games. In this interview, he talks about his project.
Dan Hannum used to work for Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs. But once he fell down the rabbit hole, he went full-time Bitcoin with his life and business.
Jeremy considers himself to be a real American and a patriot who defends the US Constitution. He firmly believes that Bitcoin is one of the means which allow him to follow the vision of the Founding Fathers.
Shaitan Ioton has been an observer of the Bitcoin phenomenon since 2009 and has seen the rise and fall of many narratives and influencers. This episode balances storytelling with pure mean and toxic gossip.
Chris DeRose has established himself as the Diogenes of the Bitcoin community. In this episode, he talks about everything that he likes and dislikes about Bitcoin.
This is a crossover episode with Brent Philbin of Crypto Basic. Listen to us talk about SXSW 2019 not really focusing on Bitcoin, the state of BTC adoption, and doing podcasts in the space.
American bitcoiner R.L.Bryer talks about his love for Austrian economics, his advocacy for Ron Paul, and the reasons why he believes in Bitcoin.
Jim, best known on Twitter as Fartface 2000, talks about being the second recipient of the Lightning torch and shares some of his experiences in the field of economics and investing.
Italian Bitcoin maximalist Giacomo Zucco talks about the industry shift from "blockchain" to Bitcoin-only, the flaws of Neutrino, and The B.
American bitcoiner Sasquatch muscle tells the story of his transformation and how he went from a Binance trader of shitcoiners to a true Bitcoin maximalist.
In this episode, bitcoiner Patrick Miller talks about the elements that make Bitcoin unique and legit, and makes comparisons with some other projects like Ethereum, Litecoin, and Tron. Also, watch out for political topics!
Hungarian Bitcoiner Karo Zagorus, who is also a member of the Bitcoin Plebs movement, talks about the situation of Bitcoin in Hungary and his academic research in the sociological aspects of Satoshi Nakamoto's invention.
Indian bitcoiner Rajarshi Maitra talks about the elements that made him love Bitcoin and the ideological transformation that he has undergone in the process. Also, he provides details about the status of BTC in India.
Developer Igor Artamonov talks about the advantages of Bitcoin and his experiences in the industry.
Israeli bitcoiner Udi Wertheimer talks about Bitcoin in international politics, his involvement in the local BTC scene, and his evolving understanding of the blockchain protocol.
Researcher and academic Wassim Alsindi presents his unique understanding of Bitcoin and talks about his background in arts and sciences.
Donald McIntyre talks about the social and anthropological elements that led to the creation of Bitcoin with an emphasis on the works of Tim May and Nick Szabo.
John Carvalho talks about his involvement in the Bitcoin space and how the participates to the political life of the community.
Zack Voell talks about the ways in which Bitcoin can change international relations and politics, offers more insights on his background in Austrian economics, and reveals what it's like to have a dating life as a bitcoiner.
Cryptocurrency journalist Omar Faridi talks about the situation of Bitcoin in Pakistan, his experiences with exchanges, and how BTC adoption can help shift the power dynamics among nation states.
Bitcoin journalist Matt B talks about his experiences as a BTC holder in Ireland and New Zealand, expresses his views on the Satoshi Nakamoto conspiracies, and comments on decentralized exchanges.
After Andy stopped playing with him and Woody joined the Red Dead Redemption universe, Buzz Lightyear has become really interested in Bitcoin.
Avi Rosten, editor at Crypto Globe, talks about how his ideological affinities have gotten him into Bitcoin, what it's like to work in crypto journalism, and how he encountered cypherpunk David Chaum.
Anthony Lusardi talks about getting into Bitcoin, using it as a mean of exchange in New York, his take on the New York Agreement, and the purpose of altcoins in a market that's dominated and led by BTC.
Brekkie makes use of his International Relations degree to talk about Bitcoin. You may also find more or less unfunny jokes that may or may not be related to "Rick and Morty" and XRP.
Alena Vranova chooses to present her worldview as a PhD dropout who’s fascinated with international trade relations. In her discourse, she also made use of her experiences with communism and free market capitalism. The result is certainly remarkable.
This is a crossover episode with Car Gonzalez's Thriller Crypto After Dark, and the main topic we discuss is Bitcoin maximalism and how this new politically-neutral monetary system can adjust world powers and make our governments more accountable.