Schnorr signature support was merged into the libsec256k1 library last week. In the episode of The Van Wirdum Sjorsnado, Aaron and Sjors discuss what the libsecp256k1 library is, why it matters for Bitcoin, and what it means that Schnorr signature support was merged. Sjors also briefly explains what he ultimate send RPC is, his own pull request that was recently merged into Bitcoin Core as well. Helpful Links: The Power of Schnorr: https://bitcoinmagazine.com/articles/the-power-of-schnorr-the-si...
Sep 18, 2020•25 min
Steven’s Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRIQM-CUkxVazVPv980YZsw Twitter: https://twitter.com/MetreSteven In this interview, we are joined by macro commentator Steven Van Metre. He has become well-known for his clear articulation of a contrarian macro take which focuses around the coming recession, bonds, and the dollar. Timestamps: 4:06 - 4:24 Talking about Bonds and their role in the global economy. 8:42 - 11:21 Steven explains what this mean for the dollar 16:09 - 17:39 How QE works...
Sep 16, 2020•37 min
Our guest this week is Leo Weese, a long time Bitcoiner in Hong Kong and a Cofounder and president of the Bitcoin Association of Hong Kong. The Bitcoin Association has been a significant advocate for and communicator about Bitcoin since 2014 as it has established one of the strongest Bitcoin communities in Asia. One of its recent initiates, an advertising campaign highlighting Bitcoin’s traits and potential as magic internet money and digital gold among other taglines has made waves. We discuss ...
Sep 14, 2020•1 hr 2 min
Aaron and Sjors welcome their first guest on to the show, Ruben Somsen, to discuss his proposals for Statechains on Bitcoin! Statechains allow you to send keys not UTXO and it offers quite a few scaling and functionality improvements! Helpful Links: Ruben's presentation on Bitcoin Magazine about Statechains: https://youtu.be/CKx6eULIC3A Aaron's Bitcoin Magazine article on Statechains: https://bitcoinmagazine.com/articles/statechains-sending-keys-not-coins-to-scale-bitcoin-off-chain Support the S...
Sep 11, 2020•41 min
In this interview, we are joined by bitcoin legend Stacy Herbert. We talk about her background in Hollywood and how she and Max found bitcoin. It is a wide ranging conversation about GIABO “Global Insurrection Against Banker Occupation” and the long term very accurate narrative that she and Max have crafted over the last 10 years. She is a memer and storyteller and that really comes through in this interview. Max Keiser Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/MaxKeiserTV Orange Pill podcast: https...
Sep 09, 2020•47 min
In this episode of the Van Wirdum Sjorsnado, Sjors and Aaron explain what an xpub is and how it is used by Bitcoin wallets. Helpful Links: http://rosenbaum.se/book/grokking-bitcoin-4.html#_hierarchical_deterministic_wallets https://walletsrecovery.org Support the Show! Follow Bitcoin Magazine on Twitter @BitcoinMagazine Follow Aaron van Wirdum @AaronvanW Follow Sjors Provoost @provoost Music: Song Title: Segwit Sounds By: The NakamoTones Album: Citadel Music Produced by: Bitcoin Audio...
Sep 04, 2020•25 min
This is Fed Watch, the Bitcoin Magazine podcast and show focused on bringing together the worlds of Macro Finance and Bitcoin. This week on Fed Watch hosts CK and Ansel Discuss Fed Chairman, Jerome Powell's speech at the Jackson Hole Federal Reserve Meeting. The hosts also discuss deflation in Europe and the ECB's inability to create inflation. We close the show out with Bitcoin Technical Analysis and Fundamentals. Powell’s Speech PDF transcript: https://www.bis.org/review/r200827d.pdf Hypothesi...
Sep 03, 2020•34 min
CK and Cory Klippsten of Swan Bitcoin sit down for a wide ranging conversation covering Bitcoin, the Bitcoin Community, The importance of sound money to Society and much more! Follow Cory on Twitter @coryklippsten Follow Swan Bitcoin @SwanBitcoin Follow CK @ck_SNARKs Follow Bitcoin Magazine @BitcoinMagazine
Sep 02, 2020•40 min
In this episode of the Van Wirdum Sjorsnado, Sjors and Aaron discuss the future of Bitcoin Scaling. This podcast is all about Taproot and the cool feature it enables called Payment pools. Topics What are payment pools? Why they need Taproot. The UX of sharing UTXOs How Payment pools work with lightning Helpful Links: https://bitcoinmagazine.com/articles/building-on-taproot-payment-pools-could-be-bitcoins-next-layer-two-protocol Support the Show! Follow Bitcoin Magazine on Twitter @BitcoinMagazin...
Aug 28, 2020•36 min
Today, we have the privilege to sit down with Head of Global Research at Alhambra Investments Jeff Snider. We run through the basics of the eurodollar system, why people get it wrong when talking about the Fed, and where we are going from here. Of course, we finish up getting Jeff to talk about bitcoin, and what he says might surprise you! Alhambra Investments: https://alhambrapartners.com/commentaryanalysis/ Alhambra Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCp8Xi-sPTL9VyZpHTPfLA-g Making Sense...
Aug 26, 2020•1 hr
Our guest this week is Darshan Bathija, founder and CEO of Bank of Hodlers (bankofhodlers.com), an asset backed lending and borrowing platform that I think we will be hearing a lot more of in the future. The company runs out of Singapore and Darshan and most of his team are currently working out of India. Darshan gives great insight into the lending and borrowing markets for retail and institutions in their different geographies from Southeast Asia to Europe and the Americas. He also goes deep o...
Aug 24, 2020•49 min
CK sits down with Brian Estes CEO of Blockchain fund Off The Chain Capital. We discuss Brian's story investing in Bitcoin and Bitcoin start ups and learn more about how Brian and Off The Chain think about Bitcoin and the future of the internet. Topics: Congresses understands that Bitcoin can’t be regulated Bitcoin has out preformed Brian's initial investment in Coinbase. Bitcoin is the best preforming asset class 9 out of the last 11 years. Bitcoin improves a portfolio's sharp ratio. Brian’s Sho...
Aug 21, 2020•26 min
This week CK and Ansel cover what’s new in the world of the Fed as well as riff on Bitcoin’s recent price action. Topics: FedNow payment network announcement Covering recent speech from Brainard of the Fed Bitcoin Metrics and price action. Useful Links: FedNow: https://www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/pressreleases/other20200806a.htm Brainard speech: https://www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/speech/brainard20200813a.htm Please rate and share the podcast! You can find us @BitcoinMagazine on Twit...
Aug 19, 2020•29 min
Our guest this week is Raymond Walintukan, Director of Mining Operations North America for Bitmain. His perspective as someone in charge of running and growing a separate geography for a Chinese company and for Bitmain in particular is an interesting one. We talk about that situation, the workflow, the growth strategy, and dive into how it works operationally and how it fits into the broader Bitmain effort. Raymond also details Bitmain’s North American footprint, the nuances of working with publ...
Aug 10, 2020•37 min
In this episode of the Van Wirdum Sjorsnado, Sjors explains the "time-warp attack" on Bitcon and Aaron explains the unfolding drama with the bcash difficulty adjustment. Helpful Links: https://bitcoinmagazine.com/articles/miners-are-milking-bcashs-difficulty-adjustments-and-why-problem1 https://bitcoinmagazine.com/articles/why-bcash-mining-shouldnt-affect-bitcoin-much-bitcoin-mining-could-ruin-bcash https://read.cash/@jtoomim/dark-secrets-of-the-grasberg-daa-a9239fb6 https://blog.bitcoinabc.org/...
Aug 07, 2020•54 min
Danielle DiMartino Booth Bio CEO & Chief Strategist, Quill Intelligence https://quillintelligence.com/ The author of FED UP: An Insider’s Take on Why the Federal Reserve is Bad for America Worked at the Fed, advisor to Dallas President Richard W. Fisher during the GFC Other topics covered this week: FOMC statement from last week https://www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/pressreleases/monetary20200729a.htm FOMC holds policies steady. Places all blame on the virus. The virus has its own dual m...
Aug 05, 2020•44 min
Our guest this week is Dr. Youree Lee, Chief Business officer of Peertec, Co-Founder of W-Foundation, and professor at Hanyang University, based out of Seoul. Peertec is a part of Peer.com a corporate group which includes the exchange GDAC, the Korean media BlockInPress and the Deconomy conference there among other entities. We talk about regulatory developments in Korea over the last year, including Korea’s new tax plan regarding cryptocurry and additional guidance for licensed exchanges. Youre...
Aug 03, 2020•41 min
In this episode of the Van Wirdum Sjorsnado, Aaron and Sjors dive into Miniscript and how it makes using Bitcoin Script much easier. Helpful Links: https://bitcoinmagazine.com/articles/miniscript-how-blockstream-engineers-are-making-bitcoin-programming-easyer Support the Show! Follow Bitcoin Magazine on Twitter @BitcoinMagazine Follow Aaron van Wirdum @AaronvanW Follow Sjors Provoost @provoost Music: Song Title: Segwit Sounds By: The NakamoTones Album: Citadel Music Produced by: Bitcoin Audio...
Jul 31, 2020•29 min
This week, @ck_SNARKs and @AnselLindner have our first guest on to FED Watch, @edstromandrew. Andy is the head of institutional at Swan Bitcoin and he comes on to the show to debate Ansel on if we will experience Inflation or Deflation moving forwards. Ansel is arguing that deflation is in our future while Andy makes the case for inflation. Please rate and share the podcast! You can find us @BitcoinMagazine on Twitter. Ansel Lindner on Twitter @AnselLindner Christian Keroles on Twitter @ck_SNARK...
Jul 30, 2020•41 min
Our guest this week is Bobby Lee. Bobby is a bitcoin and especially a China bitcoin OG as a cofounder and CEO of BTC China, later BTCC, China’s first bitcoin exchange, and presently the founder and CEO of Ballet ( balletcrypto.com ). He is always an insightful voice on the importance of Bitcoin and where it sits in the macro landscape. Our talk focuses on that macro landscape and the the cycles that bitcoin has followed to date. Recorded on July 27 as Bitcoin crossed $11k yet again, Bobby shares...
Jul 28, 2020•46 min
Description In the third episode of The Van Wirdum Sjorsnado, Aaron and Sjors break down and explain the different opinions and options available for activating Taproot and potentially future softfork upgrades. Helpful Links: Explainer article by Aaron discussing the different upgrade options: https://bitcoinmagazine.com/articles/bip-8-bip-9-or-modern-soft-fork-activation-how-bitcoin-could-upgrade-next Support the Show! Follow Bitcoin Magazine on Twitter @BitcoinMagazine Follow Aaron van Wirdum ...
Jul 26, 2020•44 min
This week, @ck_SNARKs and @AnselLindner take a deep dive into the Feds balance sheet, discuss the latest out of Europe and hash out what could happen in the short term for Bitcoin. Topics: Review the FEDs Balance Sheet Read Lorie Logan FED speech EU passes Recovery Fund Hash out Future Bitcoin scenarios Useful Links: Balance sheet YTD: https://www.federalreserve.gov/monetarypolicy/bst_recenttrends.htm Fed Currency swaps 1 yr: https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/SWPT Lorie Logan FED speech July 15...
Jul 23, 2020•44 min
In the second episode of The Van Wirdum Sjorsnado, Aaron and Sjors break down and explain Taproot, the building blocks that make Taproot possible, and what it enables Bitcoin to do. Helpful Links: Taproot Explainer: https://bitcoinmagazine.com/articles/taproot-coming-what-it-and-how-it-will-benefit-bitcoin Support the Show! Follow Bitcoin Magazine on Twitter @BitcoinMagazine Follow Aaron van Wirdum @AaronvanW Follow Sjors Provoost @provoost Music: Song Title: Segwit Sounds By: The NakamoTones Al...
Jul 17, 2020•31 min
This week, @ck_SNARKs and @AnselLindner take a deep dive on Japan and China, talk recent Altcoin pumps, and discuss mining fundamentals. Topics: Digital Yen CBDC ( https://asiatimes.com/2020/07/could-digital-yen-deflate-japans-deflation/ ) PBoC history Lack of volatility in Bitcoin Hashrate at all time highs Will Altcoins eventually die? Please rate and share the podcast! You can find us @BitcoinMagazine on Twitter. Ansel Lindner on Twitter @AnselLindner Christian Keroles on Twitter @ck_SNARKs...
Jul 16, 2020•40 min
Our guest this week is Mustafa Yilham, Global Business Development at China based group Bixin. Mustafa was previously director of business development at Huobi and a partner at the Hong Kong based quant fund and finance firm Amber Group. Bixin is a major player in the mining space with over 300 MW and in the wallet space with one of the most popular consumer wallets in China and operates a bitcoin denominated crypto fund of funds of about 6k BTC. At Bixin Mustafa manages international allocation...
Jul 14, 2020•39 min
This week ck and Ansel sit down for a big update on recent news from the FED, all things macro, and tie in where Bitcoin fits into all of it. Topics: Economists are asking for UBI type recurring payments NY Fed Says If Markets Continue Improving, "Fed's Purchases May Stop Entirely" “Soaring saving rates Stocks and Gold keep going higher together Bitcoin Updates Useful Links: Savings rates explode across the globe: http://archive.vn/casaJ Fed could slow down activity: https://www.zerohedge.com/ma...
Jul 09, 2020•32 min
Bitcoin Magazine's Technical editor Aaron van Wirdum teams up with Bitcoin core contributor Sjors Provoost to explain Bitcoin one episode at a time. In the debut episode of The Van Wirdum Sjorsnado, Aaron and Sjors break down and explain Partially Signed Bitcoin Transactions (PSBT) and Replace By Fee (RBF) and some really tricky attacks that where recently discovered in Bitcoin. Helpful Links: PSBT Attack Vector: https://blog.trezor.io/latest-firmware-updates-correct-possible-segwit-transaction-...
Jul 08, 2020•35 min
Our guest this week is Koji Higashi, a long time bitcoiner and a much sought after and followed industry expert in Japan. He has helped several large companies with market entrance and localization strategies in Japan and is a founder of Koinup. Most recently he has been focused on the Lightning Network and is building products with the team at Nayuta ( https://nayuta.co ). We talk about how bitcoin has trended in Japan over the past few years and really dive into product development and develop...
Jul 07, 2020•1 hr
This week we cover the escalation in FED buying activity, fake Chinese gold, sovereign companies, flat Bitcoin and more! Useful links: The Fed announced straight Corporate Debt purchases 06/29 https://twitter.com/NewYorkFed/status/1277658597195907073?s=20 https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/feds-primary-corporate-credit-facility-now-operational https://www.cnbc.com/2020/06/29/the-fed-is-buying-some-of-the-biggest-companies-bonds-raising-questions-over-why.html Counterfeit gold https://www.zerohedg...
Jul 03, 2020•25 min
Our gust this week is Feng Liu, founder and editor in chief of Chinese crypto media group ChainNews ( chainnews.com) . Feng was the former EIC at Bloomberg Business week in China before founding ChainNews at the end of 2017. He shares his firsthand insights into the media industry in China, how coverage of Bitcoin in China happens and has evolved in both the mainstream and industry specific media there. We also get into china’s mining industry as ChainNews recently brought back the annual Spring...
Jun 30, 2020•45 min
