Have you wondered about the challenges of managing a large publicly listed Bitcoin mining company? Jason Les, CEO of Riot Platforms joins me to talk: His poker background Why hashrate expands even when price is down Riot’s competitive advantages Should miners use debt financing? HODLing Bitcoin as a miner Bitcoin ETF impact? How can miners outperform bitcoin? Dodging knives Educating government Curtailment & Ancillary services Halving predictions Links: Site: Riotplatforms.com X: @JasonLes_ ...
Nov 02, 2023•1 hr 6 min•Season 1Ep. 522
Are you interested in building support for Bitcoin’s Lightning Network into your product or service? Check out this discussion of Greenlight with Blockstream’s Christian Decker. We talk: Improvements in lightning experience over the years No. of payments, reliability Greenlight experiences Mobile nodes Comparison with other providers Shared infrastructure Core Lightning features What features will help make lightning easy Links: Site: https://blockstream.com/lightning/greenlight/ X: @Snyke X: @B...
Oct 20, 2023•1 hr 3 min•Season 1Ep. 521
BitVM is a new paradigm for Turing-complete bitcoin contracts. In this episode I speak with the creator, Robin Linus and another developer working on the idea, Super Testnet. We discuss: What is BitVM? What are some of the trade offs? What could BitVM enable? Set up time and interactivity Can it enable sidechains or covenants? Links: Paper: bitvm.pdf X: @robin_linus X: @super_testnet Super Testnet’s Tapleaf circuits Shinobi article on BM: The Big Deal With Bitvm: Arbitrary Computation Now Possib...
Oct 12, 2023•55 min•Season 1Ep. 520
Matthew Black, co-founder and CTO of Atomic Finance joins me to talk about earning yield in a self custodial way with DLCs. We get into all the questions and criticisms people might have: How does it work without being custodial? Where is the yield coming from? HODL only Different strategies available DLC security over time The future of Bitcoin Finance Links: X: @matthewjablack Website: Atomic.Finance Sponsors: Swan.com (code LIVERA) CoinKite.com (code LIVERA) Mempool.space Stephan Livera Links...
Oct 09, 2023•57 min•Season 1Ep. 519
Lyn Alden, macro analyst rejoins me on the show to talk about her new book, Broken Money. We discuss Lyn’s thoughts on: Ledger money and who controls it Different theories of money Speed of transaction vs. settlement Warfare funding under fiat Base money and Broad money GFC and the response to it Fiat standard incentives What kind of debt makes sense under a Bitcoin standard Links: X: @LynAldenContact Site: LynAlden.com Book: Broken Money: Why Our Financial System is Failing Us and How We Can Ma...
Oct 01, 2023•1 hr 2 min•Season 1Ep. 518
Will Cole of Zaprite rejoins me to talk about: Merchant adoption and why it’s different this time Improved custody How Zaprite works Accounting and integration How adoption will be driven this time Circular economy The lie of 2% inflation Links: X: @willcole Zaprite: https://zaprite.com/ Sponsors: Pacific Bitcoin Festival (code LIVERA ) CoinKite.com (code LIVERA) Mempool.space Stephan Livera links: Follow me on X @stephanlivera Subscribe to the podcast...
Sep 29, 2023•1 hr•Season 1Ep. 517
Do you have debt? Are you wondering about the case for why you shouldn’t? Check out this episode with my friend and Bitcoin developer and advocate, Jimmy Song. We talk about his newest book, Fiat Ruins Everything: Why he wrote this book Why you should have zero debt Cultural issues Fiat morality Links: X: @jimmysong Site: https://fiatruinseverything.com/ Sponsors: Pacific Bitcoin Festival (code LIVERA ) CoinKite.com (code LIVERA) Mempool.space Stephan Livera links: Follow me on X @stephanlivera ...
Sep 22, 2023•59 min•Season 1Ep. 516
Have you wondered what it takes to be a long-term HODLer? American HODL rejoins me on the show to talk about HODLer psychology, bitcoin culture, and what to expect going forward: Adoption waves Living on Bitcoin Overconfidence Mainstream culture Bitcoin Fixes This Jurisdictions Thoughts on next cycle Links: X: americanhodl8 Sponsors: Pacific Bitcoin Festival (code LIVERA ) CoinKite.com (code LIVERA) Mempool.space Stephan Livera links: Follow me on X @stephanlivera Subscribe to the podcast...
Sep 21, 2023•1 hr 27 min•Season 1Ep. 515
Are you interested in spending 16,000 more hours with your children? Consider homeschooling! We discuss this and many other insights in this chat about homeschooling: Their own journey of homeschooling Escaping hivemind thinking Criticism of ‘school vouchers’ Building up your child’s agency Do you need curricula? Modelling behaviour “Socialisation” The culture war Links: X: https://twitter.com/Homeschool_LLC Site: https://www.homeschoollife.us/ Sponsors: Pacific Bitcoin Festival (code LIVERA ) C...
Sep 20, 2023•1 hr 8 min•Season 1Ep. 514
The next generation of Bitcoin Lightning wallets is here with Phoenix from ACINQ. Rejoining me is CTO of ACINQ, Bastien Teinturier to talk about how the team is innovating a great self custodial experience for bitcoin and lightning users: High Fee environment New Phoenix fee structure Splicing and what it enables Dual Funding Liquidity Ads Building on a smartphone app Can ACINQ steal from users? APO Biggest challenges Reasons to be optimistic Bastien links: Twitter: @realtbast Phoenix Splicing U...
Sep 17, 2023•1 hr 13 min•Season 1Ep. 513
Drivechain is a proposed soft fork that has faced a lot of criticism in the community, and Shinobi (Technical Editor of Bitcoin Magazine) joins me to discuss his critiques of the idea. We discuss: What is Drivechain How it works Miner centralisation Re orgs on sidechains T-shirt sales argument Stratum v2 “Miners can steal” Other soft fork ideas (e.g. APO, CTV) Multi Party Channels “First Develop with what we’ve got” Links brian_trollz on X Drivechains Introduce New Incentive Dynamics to Bitcoin ...
Sep 14, 2023•1 hr 23 min•Season 1Ep. 512
Glozow rejoins me to talk about updates coming to Bitcoin’s transactions and mempool policy. We talk about how these will be essential to keep bitcoin use efficient and safe, especially for layer 2 protocols such as Lightning. We chat: Current state with transacting RBF and CPFP Problems right now L2 security Pinning vectors What is package relay? What is v3 transactions? What are ephemeral anchors? Policy vs consensus Glozow links: Glozow on X Waiting for confirmation - blog series on Bitcoin O...
Sep 12, 2023•1 hr 8 min•Season 1Ep. 511
A common question amongst bitcoin investors is whether bitcoin on-chain analytics is legitimate or whether it is snake oil. Joining me to explore this as well as talk about some new research, is James Check, Lead Analyst of Glassnode. We talk about how the field progressed, and some insights to share on analyzing the bitcoin market: History of on-chain analytics Is it snake oil? Liveliness Impact of the ‘DCA Army’ Lost coins Vaulted supply vs active supply What does a bull market look like on ch...
Sep 07, 2023•1 hr 4 min•Season 1Ep. 510
Lisa Neigut of base58 and btcplusplus rejoins me on the show to talk about Bitcoin layer 2’s, where bitcoin’s lightning network is going, BTC++ and teaching Bitcoin developers at base58.We talk: Views on other L2 protocols LN technology How important is APO for LN? BTC++ nix and reproducibility Base58 Links: niftynei base58.school https://btcplusplus.dev/ Prior and relevant episodes: SLP168 Lisa Neigut – Lightning Network Channel Accounting and Dual Funded Channels SLP488 Future Visions of Light...
Sep 03, 2023•59 min•Season 1Ep. 509
Are Bitcoin’s 4 year cycles over? Vijay Boyapati rejoins me on the show to talk about his view of where things are in the economy. We chat: Recession? 18 month lag Risk on or risk off? Bitcoin as a macro asset 4 year cycles Is an ETF good for Bitcoin? Pacific Bitcoin Links X: @real_vijay Prior episodes: SLP332 Vijay Boyapati – The Bearish Case for Bitcoin SLP233 Vijay Boyapati – Bitcoin Valuations & Cycles SLP185 Vijay Boyapati – What Bitcoin Is SLP76 Vijay Boyapati – Bitcoin is not Paypal 2...
Aug 29, 2023•1 hr 10 min•Season 1Ep. 508
Andrew Poelstra (Director of Research, Blockstream) has been around Bitcoin research and development for a long time, and has a lot of insight to share on Bitcoin research in this episode. For part 2 of my discussion with Andrew we focus more on bitcoin and cryptography research that the team are working on, and what it means for the future of Bitcoin: Cryptography Bulletproofs++ MuSig2 FROST Bitcoin Scripting Miniscript Simplicity CTV and APO Covenants: are they risky for Bitcoin? Transaction I...
Aug 28, 2023•1 hr 7 min•Season 1Ep. 507
A ‘paper computer’ for Bitcoin checksums and Shamir Secret Sharing may seem absurd, but that’s what we’re talking about in this episode! This project is a scheme to generate, encode, checksum, split and recover Bitcoin secret keys, using pencil, paper and lookup tables (alternately, volvelles). We discuss codex32 and the motivation behind it with Andrew Poelstra (Director of Research, Blockstream). Note this is the first of a two part episode. In this first part we discuss: Bitcoin private keys ...
Aug 27, 2023•1 hr 1 min•Season 1Ep. 506
Brandon Black (aka Rearden Code) joins me on the show to talk about his experience implementing MuSig2 at BitGo, and also his thoughts on the future Bitcoin soft fork discussion re: APO (ANYPREVOUT), CTV (Check Template Verify), and his proposal on moving forward: MuSig2 benefits Implementing MuSig2 MPC vs Script What are APO and CTV? Brandon’s combo proposal Upgrade hooks Links: Twitter: @reardencode Combined APO + CTV proposal MuSig2 Field report on Bitcoin Optech Sponsors: Pacific Bitcoin Fes...
Aug 25, 2023•1 hr 2 min•Season 1Ep. 505
Have you been wondering about how to design your lifestyle overseas? Rigel (aka coinsurenz) rejoins me on the show to talk about jurisdictional arbitrage in Latin America. We talk about some of his recent moves and his experiences as a bitcoin sovereign individual: Voice vs Exit - what about ‘staying and fighting’? Recent residency acquisition in Paraguay How the Latam residency market has shifted Common mistakes that digital nomads make Owning vs Renting homes and storage lockers Designing your...
Aug 23, 2023•1 hr 3 min•Season 1Ep. 504
Lawrence Lepard of Equity Management Associates rejoins me to talk about all the things that are breaking: Cost of living crisis Are we going into recession and what timing? Boomer hate US government debt Policy responses Social responses The waiting game Site: Site: Ema2.com Twitter: @LawrenceLepard Sponsors: Pacific Bitcoin Festival (code LIVERA ) CoinKite.com (code LIVERA) Mempool.space Base58 Stephan Livera links: Follow me on Twitter @stephanlivera Subscribe to the podcast...
Aug 20, 2023•56 min•Season 1Ep. 503
How can lightning users secure themselves even further? Just like how hardware wallets and secure elements can help secure your cold storage coins, Validating Lightning Signer (VLS) is a project aiming to help improve the way lightning security works. In this conversation with project co-founder Ken Sedgwick, we chat: Why VLS is needed How VLS works Implementing part of the lightning state machine What rules are covered? What lightning implementations are supported? The impact of lightning proto...
Aug 17, 2023•57 min•Season 1Ep. 502
Dr Maxim Orlovsky joins me on the show to walk through RGB, a smart contract layer for Bitcoin. We talk through: Some of the history of RGB Client side validation as a concept RGB ecosystem What it can be used for - tokens, bitcoin finance MyCitadel wallet What’s next for RGB Links: Site: RGB Twitter: @dr_orlovsky Personal site: Dr . Maxim Orlovsky Github: Dr. Maxim Orlovsky Sponsors: Pacific Bitcoin Festival (code LIVERA ) CoinKite.com (code LIVERA) Mempool.space Base58 Stephan Livera links: Fo...
Aug 15, 2023•1 hr 13 min•Season 1Ep. 501
Andrew Henderson, Founder of Nomad Capitalist rejoins me on the show to talk: Home country bias Looking beyond headlines Evolution in citizenship Global minimum tax and ‘the international community’ CBDC Nomad Capitalist Live Links: Twitter: @nomadcapitalist Site: N omadcapitalist .com Sponsors: Pacific Bitcoin Festival (code LIVERA ) CoinKite.com (code LIVERA) Mempool.space Base58 Stephan Livera links: Follow me on Twitter @stephanlivera Subscribe to the podcast...
Aug 12, 2023•53 min
Jonathan Chester, Founder/CEO of Bitwage joins me to talk about his experience setting up the company and enabling more people to earn Bitcoin: The story of growing Bitwage The market size for payroll Exploring Lightning payouts Remote working as a trend HODLing as the use Links: Twitter: @Bitwage Site: Bitwage Sponsors: Pacific Bitcoin Festival (code LIVERA ) CoinKite.com (code LIVERA) Mempool.space Stephan Livera links: Follow me on Twitter @stephanlivera Subscribe to the podcast...
Aug 07, 2023•51 min•Season 1Ep. 499
Mara joins me to talk about his adventures in Argentina, and his thoughts on: Geo arbitrage Rules in theory, rules in practice FX in Argentina Bitcoin use in Argentina Argentina’s property market Where things are going with CBDCs Mara links: Twitter: @BowTiedMara Substack: BowTiedMara - Geoarbitrage & Mobility Assets Sovspot: Live & Work from anywhere Sponsors: Pacific Bitcoin Festival (code LIVERA ) CoinKite.com (code LIVERA) Mempool.space Stephan Livera: Follow me on Twitter @stephanli...
Aug 04, 2023•1 hr•Season 1Ep. 498
Author, digital nomad and web entrepreneur Olivier Roland joins me to talk about his issues with AML and his very interesting views on where the world is going in the age of remote working and internet communications. The problem with KYC / AML FATCA Taxes and the Sovereign Individual thesis Digital Nomadism disrupting nation states Links: Twitter: @DisruptiveHoriz Site: Disruptive Horizons Relevant prior episodes: SLP318 Ronald Pol - The Ineffectiveness of AML SLP424 Simon Lelieveldt The proble...
Aug 02, 2023•1 hr 12 min•Season 1Ep. 497
Fernando Nikolic, Director of Marketing and Comms at Blockstream joins me on the show to talk about the slightly controversial idea that Bitcoin is Not for Everyone! We get into: His background and why he believes bitcoin is not for everyone Who is it really for? What about savings technology? Is there a role for bitcoin evangelists? Teaser on what’s coming with Blockstream Green How to move forward Links: Twitter: @basedlayer Links: T o Drive Meaningful Adoption, We Should Accept That Bitcoin i...
Jul 29, 2023•1 hr 5 min•Season 1Ep. 496
Joe Carlasare (Partner at Amundsen Davis LLC) and Bitcoiner joins me to share his legal expertise and opinions on: Why you shouldn’t expect the Bitcoin spot ETF soon The SEC Ripple decision SEC Binance and Coinbase Bitcoin and stablecoins Macro thoughts Links: Twitter: @JoeCarlasare Site: Amundsen Davis Sponsors: Pacific Bitcoin Festival (code LIVERA ) CoinKite.com (code LIVERA) Mempool.space Links: Follow me on Twitter @stephanlivera Subscribe to the podcast...
Jul 26, 2023•1 hr 4 min•Season 1Ep. 495
Hannah Frankman of Rebel Educator joins me to talk about homeschooling and the problems of Public School: Failures of public schooling vs homeschooling Infantilization of people nowadays Homeschooling vs unschooling Social skills of homeschooled kids Single income trade offs Results of homeschooling Links: Twitter: @rebelEducator Twitter: @HannahFrankman Youtube: @thehannahfrankmanpodcast Podcast (Spotify): The Hannah Frankman Podcast Article: How to Homeschool/UnSchool your kids for free Sponso...
Jul 24, 2023•1 hr 4 min•Season 1Ep. 494
Matthew Williams, Head of Derivatives at Luxor Mining joins me to talk about Bitcoin Mining hashprice derivatives and what they will do for bitcoin miners: Getting into bitcoin mining What is hashprice? How hashprice shifts over time What is a non-deliverable forward? Who should use an NDF? Professionalising bitcoin mining Link: Site: Luxor Technolog ies Sponsors: Pacific Bitcoin Festival (code LIVERA ) CoinKite.com (code LIVERA) Lugano PlanB Forum Mempool.space...
Jul 20, 2023•48 min•Season 1Ep. 493
