"Historically, what do nations do when they're on a gold standard and they need to fight a war? They just suspend the gold standard. The difference is that what Bitcoin brings is this decentralization, where if you were truly on a Bitcoin standard, someone in Washington, D.C. couldn't just say, "We're going off the Bitcoin standard now." That's the power that Bitcoin has, that you can actually have a chance at separating money and the state, and that is the most important thing in the world to d...
Aug 01, 2024•42 min
Is Trump's speech at Bitcoin 2024 a sign of genuine support or just typical political pandering? Today we explore the implications of politicians courting the Bitcoin community, questions the motives behind their promises, and explores the potential for Bitcoin to reshape the geopolitical landscape. Will the next election cycle mark a turning point for Bitcoin's role in politics, or is this just the newest form of political grifting? Links to check out The Chain of Custody: The “Mafia” Holding T...
Jul 29, 2024•1 hr 35 min
"Do we need an AGI Manhattan Project? Slowly at first, then all at once, it will become clear: this is happening, things are going to get wild, this is the most important challenge for the national security of the United States since the invention of the atomic bomb. In one form or another, the national security state will get very heavily involved. The Project will be the necessary, indeed the only plausible, response." ~ Leopold Will the race for AGI lead to a Manhattan Project-like initiative...
Jul 25, 2024•50 min
"Something else has to go down in order for something to go up. That's why it is specifically a relative weight between all of these things... You can't just charge $100,000 dollars for something if nobody has that money, and then think that you're gonna sell it. You'll never can't sell it for that. You can't sell something for an amount of money that doesn't exist. Just look at the stock market. You're just looking at money printing going into the financial system before going into everything e...
Jul 24, 2024•1 hr 15 min
It's time to accept some hard truths. Today we are going to challenge some common assumptions about Bitcoin's scalability, privacy, and transaction fees. Is Bitcoin really even global peer-to-peer cash for everyone? Is privacy even still in the cards for Bitcoin? Is there anything left in crypto at all? And what will be the future nature of fees when Bitcoin is a global dominant store of value, and is there an analogous market can we explore today for insight into what this market may look like ...
Jul 22, 2024•1 hr 32 min
"I really wanted to screen share stuff with people and make it as easy as possible and I got fed up. So I was just like, okay, you know, let's throw this up and let's stick on a nostr log in and let's add lightning zaps to it as a starting point. It was pushed out a bit prematurely, but... I think a lot of people want to use it.. they want a way to talk to other people where you're not really getting tracked. We want to be able to provide a space where people don't feel like there's some Googly ...
Jul 19, 2024•2 hr 31 min
"Reliably controlling AI systems much smarter than we are is an unsolved technical problem. And while it is a solvable problem, things could very easily go off the rails during a rapid intelligence explosion. Managing this will be extremely tense; failure could easily be catastrophic." ~ Leopold Aschenbrenner As we approach a potential intelligence explosion and the birth of superintelligence, how can we ensure AI remains beneficial and aligned with the goals of furthering humanity, while naviga...
Jul 18, 2024•1 hr 46 min
"Only the giant corporations are gonna have this and anybody less than a billion dollars, these won't exist. And that was scary, I was like, this can undo what Bitcoin is doing unless we get ahead of this. Luckily I actually now think that despite the fact that there will elements of centralizing forces in AI, this will contribute more to the diseconomies of scale of the giant corporate setup and the government institutions in the sense that the bigger you are, the less it helps you." ~ Guy Swan...
Jul 17, 2024•1 hr 51 min
"The former Speaker predicts "The dollar will suffer a major confidence shock” and as a result asks, “What can be done?” His immediate answer is to “start by taking stablecoins seriously.” Dollar-backed stablecoins are arriving as “an important net purchaser of U.S. government debt,” with stablecoin issuers now the 18th largest holder of US Debt. Ryan goes on to say that “if fiat-backed dollar stablecoin issuers were a country,” that nation “would sit just outside the top 10 in countries holding...
Jul 16, 2024•1 hr 31 min
"Much like the World Economic Forum’s Young Global Leaders program has facilitated the placement of its trained, ideological allies in positions of top political power around the world, groups like Endeavor and their equivalents help ensure that similarly controlled business leaders dominate the private sector and become the public face of emerging market monopolies that are, ultimately, part of a broader network." ~ Mark Goodwin & Whitney Webb What if a network of powerful governments and b...
Jul 12, 2024•1 hr 22 min
What if the race to AGI isn't just about code, but a massive industrial mobilization? As AI capabilities grow exponentially, will we see trillion-dollar compute clusters and unprecedented energy demands? And in this high-stakes competition, how critical is securing AI secrets from rival nations? This episode delves into these questions, exploring the potential challenges and geopolitical implications of rapid AI advancement. Check out the original article by Leopold Aschenbrenner at situational-...
Jul 11, 2024•1 hr 45 min
"You eliminate 99% of the attack surface to a single moment in time, which is the beginning. And when you do that, would-be attackers are forced to take risks and make mistakes. You know, when someone is planning on doing election fraud, this doesn't mean that it's impossible for them to do it. But it narrows the window so much that they are likely going to mess up. And when they mess up, you catch them." ~ Carlino When people usually talk about alternative bitcoin "utility" they often mean NFTs...
Jul 10, 2024•2 hr 29 min
"Submarine Swaps employ hash time-locked contracts ( HTLCs ), which in layperson’s terms, enable two transactions (both sides of the swap) to happen simultaneously by linking them together cryptographically inside of a smart contract. Using this technology, there is no way for one exchange to occur without the other occurring at the same moment. This is the most trustless solution that exists for moving sats between Bitcoin layers." ~ Frank Corva What role do trustless bridges play in connecting...
Jul 08, 2024•48 min
"Whatever your setup is for storing the majority of your bitcoin - be it hot or cold, online or offline, software or hardware - if you can access and spend it in a matter of minutes, so can a robber armed with a $5 wrench. The _price_ for convenience is risk**. This is not merely a theoretical scenario; I have cataloged over 50 physical attacks against bitcoin users, including myself!" ~ Jameson Lopp How can you protect your Bitcoin from physical attacks and ensure its safety in a world where ev...
Jul 06, 2024•44 min
Open AI signals that they are the surveillance leviathon we suspected they always were. Anthropic's Claude 3.5 may be even better than ChatGPT. I explore and detail out some new tools and build new tiny apps to recreate some of the incredible features of the Apple AI announcements, but in a local, open source way. A cybersecurity disaster in Microsoft's announcement of their new OS "feature" Recall and why it may be the worst thing for security and privacy in a very long time. And much more in t...
Jul 04, 2024•1 hr 33 min
"When you have a child, you care more than anyone else about that child. You're caring about their long-term success and happiness and their health. If you look at just a first principles basis, what is the school interested in? What is the state interested in? It's more about compliance and conformity. It's not about creativity. It's not about critical thinking. It is conformity and compliance." ~ Tali & Scott Can a board game teach Bitcoin better than a lecture? Join Tali, Scott, and me as...
Jul 04, 2024•2 hr 46 min
"Joltz is one company that is actively building the necessary infrastructure to support this interoperability. By developing an SDK that allows wallets to integrate with swap providers easily, Joltz aims to streamline the process of connecting various sidechains with the Lightning Network. Highlighting the efficiency gains from using Lightning as a central hub." ~ Bitcoin Magazine Can the Lightning Network be the key to Bitcoin's mass adoption and financial innovation? Dive into this episode as ...
Jul 02, 2024•50 min
In a world where centralized platforms dominate, can peer-to-peer systems make a comeback? Today we explore the details of P2P technology, as well as the challenges that early P2P systems faced, and how modern technologies might overcome them. Discover how Bitcoin, Lightning, and emerging protocols could revolutionize file sharing, content distribution, and even AI computation. Are we on the brink of a new era of internet freedom and innovation? Links to check out Keet - A peer-to-peer chat appl...
Jun 29, 2024•1 hr 38 min
Are we on the verge of an intelligence explosion that could redefine the future of AI and humanity? Explore Leopold Ashen Brenner's insights on the leap from AGI to superintelligence and what it could mean for every aspect of our lives. Join me as we delve into the potential and perils of a superintelligent world and its profound implications. We are continuing a read situational awareness the decade ahead by Leopold Ashen Brenner that we started in the previous episode and this will be part two...
Jun 27, 2024•1 hr 42 min
This chat episode is a riveting conversation which was originally featured on The Staying Free Podcast with my friend jonnyhodl. I delve deep into libertarian ethics, anarchism, and the necessity (or lack thereof) of the state. This thorough discussion sees Jonny playing devil’s advocate, challenging Guy to articulate and defend the principles of voluntarism and decentralized technology. Whether you're new to these concepts or a seasoned thinker, this episode offers valuable insights into the ph...
Jun 26, 2024•2 hr 30 min
"China’s current ways to censor the Internet are to block connections from IP servers serving content and block protocol-level attempts, such as Tor, at specific points. China is also incredibly aggressive in requesting Apple to do app store takedowns, which Apple regularly complies with. In 2022, for example, China was responsible for more than 97% of apps taken down by Apple for different countries. [...] Finally, within the country, law enforcement has access to physical surveillance and regi...
Jun 25, 2024•57 min
"Do not expect the vertiginous pace of progress to abate. The trend lines look innocent, but their implications are intense... Scaling up simple deep learning techniques has just worked. The models just want to learn, and we're about to do another 100,000X by the end of 2027. It won't be long before they're smarter than us." ~ Leopold Aschenbrenner What does the next decade hold for AI, and are we on the brink of achieving artificial general intelligence? Join me as I dive into Leopold Ashen Bre...
Jun 20, 2024•1 hr 47 min
"The most powerful thing that Bitcoin did was establish a monetary foundation, a monetary policy that was not alterable through a shallow, short term social consensus. That the protocol determines the rules, and then everyone is only able to fight within those rules, and any changes that are made can only occur within those rules, and anybody who tries to break those rules are necessarily forking off. And if they do not get overwhelming support to do that, the change simply doesn't succeed." ~ G...
Jun 19, 2024•3 hr 15 min
"The last point is crucial — users can withdraw their Ark funds at any time, even if their ASP goes offline or ceases to exist. True self-custody." ~ Ark Labs Do we finally have a genuine layer two protocol that offers both seamless payments and true self-custody? With frictionless onboarding and unilateral exits, can ARK solve the long-standing challenges of inbound liquidity and custodial risks? Discover the potential of this novel approach that combines elements of payment channels, e-cash, a...
Jun 17, 2024•42 min
Today Guy Swann dives deep into everything about the "Apple Intelligence" announcement, which aims to integrate powerful AI capabilities directly into the company's operating systems. He raises thought-provoking questions about the implications of such a system, particularly regarding privacy and trust in a tech giant like Apple. The episode promises to explore the potential benefits and drawbacks of this groundbreaking AI implementation. Links to check out: Ai_023 - The Promise of personal Ai (...
Jun 16, 2024•1 hr 24 min
Is deflation always a bad thing, or have we misunderstood its true impact on the economy? Join me as I unravel the misconceptions about deflation, explore the different types, and explain why modern economics gets it wrong. Discover how Bitcoin fits into this picture and what it means for real economic growth. Links to check out 2 Sats Video on Deflation (Link: https://youtu.be/vknNY3oTABc) Guy's Take - Fiat Waste (Link: https://fountain.fm/episode/1gcvdjEf8b3FB1D48jjX) Guy's Take - Fiat Finance...
Jun 13, 2024•59 min
"Educating the world about bitcoin has succeeded in building a community of knowledgeable, dedicated, enthusiastic people from the fields of tech, economics, politics, and finance, but orange pilling has taken us as far as it can. Like many strategies, the marginal gains of educating the world were remarkable in the early stages, but they’ve flattened... Orange pilling has stopped working." - Roy Sheinfeld Has Bitcoin's "orange-pilling" strategy reached its limits? Explore why traditional method...
Jun 10, 2024•53 min
"...that the lives and efforts of other men are not his property and are not there to serve his wishes. A rational man never holds a desire or pursues a goal which cannot be achieved directly or indirectly by his own effort." ~ Ayn Rand Is the conflict between individual interests and society a myth? Discover how Ayn Rand's principles of rational self-interest challenge common beliefs about competition and cooperation, and what it means for our understanding of freedom and responsibility. Tune i...
Jun 09, 2024•1 hr 5 min
"In NRA, the Court addressed a critical issue impacting not only traditional advocacy groups but any disfavored, but legal, industry. This ruling draws parallels to Operation Choke Point 2.0, where U.S. regulators have allegedly been targeting crypto businesses through financial exclusion. Moreover, the recent _Cantero_ decision sheds light on how this legal framework might impact Custodia Bank's appeal against the denial of their master account by the Federal Reserve." - Colin Crossman Multiple...
Jun 06, 2024•51 min
A trend I've noticed with Ai, is that it has shifted itself into the middleman position between everyone and the normal surfing of the web. While it may save the user time, could this be disrupting the very traffic that monetizes content on the internet? With this fundamental change in the monetization paradigm, a huge shift is coming to the web. What will it look like, and how should we prepare? Tune in to find out. Links to check out Descript (Link: https://tinyurl.com/bdhr75jr) Pinokio (Link:...
Jun 06, 2024•54 min
