NVK of Coinkite rejoins me to talk about attitudes on Bitcoin development and consensus changes. We discuss how “ossification” is commonly thrown around as a term, but maybe there is a better term. “Extreme conservatism”? We talk: What is ossification? What about bug fixes? What changes would NVK be interested in? How many people will use Bitcoin? What the market is focused on It’s not your chain Links: X: @nvk Bitcoinsecurity.guide coinkite.com Unleashed.chat Timestamps: (00:00) - Intro (00:52)...
Jun 07, 2024•58 min•Season 1Ep. 582
I recently spoke at Bitcoin Seoul 2024 and here are some interviews with some of the speakers: Calvin Kim on utreexo Gloria Zhao on Bitcoin Core and mempool Laolu on Taproot Assets and covenants Saifedean on Central Banking and tax cattle Obi Nwosu on Fedi Jimmy Song on Bitcoin in Korea Timestamps: (00:00) - Calvin Kim on importance of Bitcoin conferences (01:51) - Simplifying Utreexo (03:31) - What is Utreexod? (04:51) - Will node providers support Utreexo? (06:38) - Gloria Zhao on BIP431 (Truc...
Jun 04, 2024•1 hr 9 min•Season 1Ep. 581
Walt Smith of cyber.fund joins me to discuss thoughts on MEV and where it may be going on Bitcoin. We discuss: Defining MEV 10 minute block time? Does it centralise Bitcoin? Suffering from success The approach on shitcoins and spam Timestamps: (00:00) - Intro (02:02) - Defining MEV (06:02) - Replace-by-fee (RBF) (11:01) - Concern regarding miner centralisation (18:56) - Growth of private mempool flow & MEV potential? (24:55) - Are mining pools transparent with fee payouts? (27:01) - Expressi...
Jun 02, 2024•58 min•Season 1Ep. 580
Silent Payments is a new approach to improving privacy and useability of Bitcoin. Imagine not needing to manually create new addresses? Josibake and Ruben Somsen join me to discuss some of the ins and outs of Silent Payments. We discuss: Silent Payments overview Contrast with other techniques such as BIP47 Light client support Stopping address re use Base layer privacy discussion Links: X: @josibake X: @SomsenRuben BIP: Silent Payments Tracking progress in Bitcoin Core/libsecp256k1 Informational...
May 27, 2024•1 hr 17 min•Season 1Ep. 579
Skot joins me to talk about his project to bring affordable, energy efficient, open source mining to home miners. We discuss: The current state of open source in bitcoin mining Bitaxe overview Why do people do this? Price and how to set one up Mining pools Decentralisation Links: X: @skot9000 Site: Bitaxe.org Sponsors: Swan.com (code LIVERA) CoinKite.com (code LIVERA) Mempool.space Nomadcapitalist.com/apply Stephan Livera links: Follow me on X: @stephanlivera Subscribe to the podcast Subscribe t...
May 24, 2024•1 hr 6 min•Season 1Ep. 578
Rusty Russell rejoins me on the show to talk about a new idea for a bitcoin soft fork that hopefully avoids some of the ‘horse trading’ dynamic that existed amongst other proposals. Listen in to learn more about the different paradigm that Rusty introduces here, so that developers can build more functionality and efficiency in, hopefully so that more people can use Bitcoin in self-custody. Bitcoin Script background GSR overview GSR benefits What is varops Contrast with APO or LNHANCE? Will it en...
May 22, 2024•58 min•Season 1Ep. 577
Dan Gould of the PayJoin Dev Kit (sponsored by Spiral and Opensats) joins me to discuss how Bitcoin privacy could be improved with more PayJoin adoption. What’s more, it might also benefit users in consolidating their wallets or potentially even fee savings. We discuss how this could be integrated into more bitcoin wallets. What is a PayJoin? How it helps privacy Other benefits in efficiency Downsides and trade offs Changes with the v2 PayJoin protocol PayJoin Directory Payjoin Dev Kit Links: X:...
May 21, 2024•1 hr•Season 1Ep. 576
Adam Sullivan, CEO of Core Scientific joins me today as we chat about: Going through bankruptcy as a Bitcoin miner Debt financing Role of capital structure in mining What makes Core Scientific different? Centralisation of mining pools Fee dynamics going forward 2025 outlook on Mining Links: X: @_Adam_Sullivan1 Core Scientific: C ore s cientific.com Sponsors: Swan.com (code LIVERA) CoinKite.com (code LIVERA) Mempool.space Stephan Livera links: Follow me on X: @stephanlivera Subscribe to the podca...
May 17, 2024•59 min•Season 1Ep. 575
Rapha Zagury, CIO of Swan and Head of Swan Mining rejoins me on the show to talk about a range of topics, from Brazil’s flooding, Bitcoin Mining, Capital Structure, as well as share some insights on speaking to TradFi professionals about Bitcoin. Links: X: @alphaazeta Site: S wan.com Site: N akamotoportfolio.com Nakamoto Gauntlet: The Nakamoto Portfolio Gauntlet Sponsors: Swan.com (code LIVERA) CoinKite.com (code LIVERA) Mempool.space Stephan Livera links: Follow me on X: @stephanlivera Subscrib...
May 14, 2024•1 hr 29 min•Season 1Ep. 574
As you may know, at the recent Bitcoin++ conference, there was a ‘meeting of the minds’ and Brandon Black aka reardencode rejoins me on the show to discuss. We talk about: The state of various covenant proposals What has shifted now in thinking The promise of Great Script Restoration Could it have bad side effects? Doing good engineering Links: X: @reardencode Bitcoin++: btcplusplus.dev Rusty’s talk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rSp8918HLnA Sponsors: Swan.com (code LIVERA) CoinKite.com (code ...
May 10, 2024•57 min•Season 1Ep. 573
Miljan from Primal joins me to talk about why Bitcoiners should not sleep on Nostr. We chat: Why he’s bullish on nostr What the experience is like nowadays Network effects for creators and devs Dealing with spam and sybil Why Openness is the killer feature Links: X: @mbraticevic Site: P rimal.net Miljan’s Nostr npub: npub16c0nh3dnadzqpm76uctf5hqhe2lny344zsmpm6feee9p5rdxaa9q586nvr Miljan’s Nostr: miljan@primal.net Sponsors: Swan.com (code LIVERA) CoinKite.com (code LIVERA) Mempool.space Nomadcapi...
May 08, 2024•1 hr 17 min•Season 1Ep. 572
Peruvian Bull, a macro writer and commentator joins me to explain what’s happening with the Japanese economy and how it all ties in with the dollar end game. We discuss: The impossible trinity for Japan Japanese government debt The global JPY carry trade The impact on the US financial system Links: X: @peruvian_bull Nostr: npub1xwmyzp64xx03kw9ecd7fzsj3e9dgwah6an0rdng0cc6ux4dswwjs28pyyc Newsletter: https://substack.com/@peruvianbull Sponsors: Swan.com (code LIVERA) CoinKite.com (code LIVERA) Memp...
May 05, 2024•1 hr 6 min•Season 1Ep. 571
Parker Lewis of Zaprite rejoins me on the show to discuss recent updates in the space and what’s happening with Zaprite and merchant adoption. “Then they fight you” ? Chilling Effect Zaprite Getting Bitcoin Payment Rails Ready Gradually, Then Suddenly Why hope should not be lost Links: X: @parkeralewis Site: Zaprite.com Get Parker’s Book: thesifhouse.com Sponsors: Swan.com (code LIVERA) CoinKite.com (code LIVERA) Mempool.space Stephan Livera links: Follow me on X: @stephanlivera Subscribe to the...
May 03, 2024•1 hr 13 min•Season 1Ep. 570
A lot of people talk about Bitcoin Ossification. Today Steve Lee, Lead @ Spiral rejoins me to expand on why this is the wrong idea. We also talk about the recent situation with bitcoin mining pool centralisation and what is driving it. Links: X: @moneyball AJ Town’s ‘Slow and Steady’ post mentioned : Earlier episode also mentioned: SLP433 : v2 P2P Transport Protocol for Bitcoin (BIP324) Sponsors: Swan.com (code LIVERA) CoinKite.com (code LIVERA) Mempool.space Stephan Livera links: Follow me on X...
Apr 29, 2024•1 hr 24 min•Season 1Ep. 569
Jeff Booth, author, entrepreneur and founding partner of Ego Death Capital rejoins me on the show to talk about his bitcoin advocacy at various levels: Speaking to politicians about bitcoin The system you give energy to “Staying and fighting” in Canada vs supporting alternatives e.g. Madeira ‘Coincidental’ attack on Bitcoin? Links: X: @JeffBooth nostr: npub1s05p3ha7en49dv8429tkk07nnfa9pcwczkf5x5qrdraqshxdje9sq6eyhe Site: Ego Death Capital Sponsors: Swan.com (code LIVERA) CoinKite.com (code LIVER...
Apr 26, 2024•1 hr 9 min•Season 1Ep. 568
How do you think about investing as a bitcoiner? Preston Pysh of TIP rejoins me on the show to talk about a range of related ideas: HODL vs invest in companies Microstrategy and other public companies VC and early stage investment Realistic investment hurdle rates Technical realities as bitcoin grows Links: X: @PrestonPysh TIP: theinvestorspodcast.com nostr: npub1s5yq6wadwrxde4lhfs56gn64hwzuhnfa6r9mj476r5s4hkunzgzqrs6q7z Sponsors: Swan.com (code LIVERA) CoinKite.com (code LIVERA) Mempool.space N...
Apr 23, 2024•1 hr 13 min•Season 1Ep. 567
Dmitry Nedospasov is a PhD in Chip Security, also known for his hardware wallet exploits in 2018 with the wallet.fail talk. Dmitry joins me to talk about hardware security in the world of bitcoin and how it compares with hardware chip security in other domains. We discuss: The 2018 wallet.fail talk Bitcoin compared with other industries Realistic hardware wallet attack types The cost of attacking a hardware device Backups and Shamir’s Secret Sharing Links: X: @nedos LinkedIn: Dmitry Nedospasov S...
Apr 22, 2024•1 hr 24 min•Season 1Ep. 566
Steve Lee and Matt Corallo of Spiral rejoin me on the show to talk about a range of topics. Firstly we discuss the Great Consensus Clean Up which relates to fixing some long standing bugs in Bitcoin. Secondly we talk about MEV and why it’s the wrong term, instead we should be talking about MEVil and the implications for Bitcoin miner centralisation. Finally we address the rumours of Lightning Network being dead or not useful. Links: X: @moneyball X: @TheBlueMatt BlueMatt's Blog: Stop Calling It ...
Apr 18, 2024•1 hr 4 min•Season 1Ep. 565
Andrew Henderson rejoins me to discuss his story renouncing US citizenship, and whether the price was worth it. We discuss whether you should “stay and fight” as well as considerations relevant for Bitcoiners on pursuing their options in other countries. We also discuss Nomad Capitalist Live 2024, coming in KL Malaysia. Listen in to learn and stay up to date on global tax, investing and lifestyle strategies. Links: X: @nomadcapitalist Sponsors: Swan.com (code LIVERA) CoinKite.com (code LIVERA) M...
Apr 16, 2024•59 min•Season 1Ep. 560
Kevin Loaec of wizardsardine joins me to talk about bitcoin security and vaults. We get into a discussion about: Vaults and what’s possible today Timelocking and using them as part of self custody Inheritance scenarios Business use cases Covenant soft forks Links: X: @KLoaec X: @Wizardsardine X: @revaultdev Site: Wizardsardine Sponsors: Swan.com (code LIVERA) CoinKite.com (code LIVERA) Mempool.space Stephan Livera links: Follow me on X: @stephanlivera Subscribe to the podcast Subscribe to Substa...
Apr 12, 2024•1 hr 15 min•Season 1Ep. 563
Have you wondered about the role design and UX plays in Bitcoin apps? Christoph and Mogashni join me from the Bitcoin Design Community to share insights on: What most people are getting wrong about design How you can leverage design principles in your bitcoin product Bitcoin specific design challenges Types of user Tools available by the Bitcoin Design community Links: Site: Bitcoin.design Site: bitcoindesignfoundation.org X: @MogashniNaidoo X: @GBKS Sponsors: Swan.com (code LIVERA) CoinKite.com...
Apr 09, 2024•58 min•Season 1Ep. 562
Peter St Onge rejoins me on the show to share some insight into how bad the US government fiscal situation is getting. We talk: How much debt there is and what’s next here The impact on the people Japanese interest rates rising Japanese economic impacts AI and where the jobs will come from Bitcoin outlook Links: X: @profstonge Site: P rofs t o nge .com Sponsors: Swan.com (code LIVERA) CoinKite.com (code LIVERA) Mempool.space Nomadcapitalist.com Stephan Livera links: Follow me on X: @stephanliver...
Apr 03, 2024•1 hr 13 min•Season 1Ep. 561
Thomas Fahrer, co-founder of Apollo joins me to talk about the Bitcoin ETFs. We talk: Analysing the Bitcoin ETFs What further institutional adoption looks like How much capital could flow into Bitcoin The Bitcoin FOMO scenario Disagreements on the power law model MSTR and Bitcoin Links: X: @thomas_fahrer Site: Heyapollo.com Sponsors: Swan.com (code LIVERA) CoinKite.com (code LIVERA) Mempool.space Stephan Livera links: Follow me on X: @stephanlivera Subscribe to the podcast Subscribe to Substack ...
Mar 30, 2024•1 hr 7 min•Season 1Ep. 557
My friend Vijay Boyapati (Author of the Bullish Case for Bitcoin, and part of the Swan team) rejoins me on the show to talk about HODLing, share his analysis on things, and offer some tips on how to HODL. We talk: What phase of the cycle we’re in HODLer psychology Does Bitcoin get captured? Is Bitcoin for Everyone? Self custody tech GBTC and Bankruptcies Common traps and how to avoid them Links: X: @real_vijay Genesis thread https://twitter.com/real_vijay/status/1744454450138526162 Sponsors: Swa...
Mar 26, 2024•1 hr 10 min•Season 1Ep. 559
Mi Primer Bitcoin (My First Bitcoin) has grown since I last spoke with them on the show. John from the team rejoins me to talk about how things have developed. The team has now taught over 25,000 students in El Salvador and they are now expanding internationally. Links: X: @jdennehy_writes Site: Miprimerbitcoin.io SLP381 John Dennehy & Gloriana Solano – Bitcoin Diploma in El Salvador Sponsors: Swan.com (code LIVERA) CoinKite.com (code LIVERA) Mempool.space Stephan Livera links: Follow me on ...
Mar 23, 2024•42 min•Season 1Ep. 558
How do we interact with Bitcoin in a multi layer world? What cost savings and trade offs are necessary here? What even counts as a layer? Kilian from boltz.exchange joins me to talk about swapping across Bitcoin on-chain, Lightning and Liquid. We discuss: How swapping works What makes it atomic and non-custodial What counts as layer 2 Fee savings and trade offs Links: X: @kilrau Site: boltz.exchange X: @boltzhq Taproot feature blog post: Introducing Taproot Swaps: Putting the "Fun" Back into Ref...
Mar 15, 2024•59 min•Season 1Ep. 557
Patrick van der Meijde, founder of BitKassa and co founder Arnhem Bitcoin City joins me to talk about his experience with co-founding one of the earliest Bitcoin ‘circular economy’ communities in 2014. How he got started Taking payments pre-lightning Are there enough people spending? Resurgence in circular economies Adopting Bitcoin Arnhem City Links: X: @PatrickvdMeijde Site: adoptingbitcoinarnhem.com Site: arnhembitcoinstad.nl Cofounder @BitKassaNL Cofounder Arnhem Bitcoin City @Bitcoinstad Yo...
Mar 13, 2024•39 min•Season 1Ep. 556
While in Madeira for Bitcoin Atlantis, I did some interviews on a range of topics with Lyn Alden, James Lavish, Tomer Strolight, Francis Pouliot, Steven Roose and Peter Todd. We discussed: is Macro mid curve? USG debt Using analogies to teach bitcoin librerelay MEV concerns Self custodial and scaling Links: Lyn Alden X: @LynAldenContact Site: lynalden.com James Lavish X: @jameslavish Site: jameslavish.substack.com Site: bitcoinopportunity.fund Tomer Strolight X: @TomerStrolight Bitcoin is Genera...
Mar 06, 2024•1 hr 32 min•Season 1Ep. 555
What applications exist for Bitcoin self custodial finance? Philipp Hoenisch, founder of 10101 (pronounced ten-ten-one) joins me on the show to talk about bitcoin trading without counterparty risk. We discuss: DLC overview and basics DLC channels and lightning 10101 walkthrough “Funding rate” Synthetic stablecoins For individuals or business? Risks and things can break down Prior Episodes: SLP349 Chris Stewart Bitcoin DLCs & Stablechannels SLP219 Nadav Kohen – What You Should Know About Bitc...
Mar 02, 2024•1 hr 5 min•Season 1Ep. 554
Eric Yakes, author of The 7th Property, joins me to talk about the future of Bitcoin Banking, LN and ecash. We discuss: Chaumian mints and ecash Interaction with LN Credit markets in the future How does the system remain Full Reserve? Regulatory roadblocks Will there be a role for passive index funds? Links: X: @ericyakes axiombtc.capital/bank Site: Y akes.io Sponsors: Swan.com (code LIVERA) CoinKite.com (code LIVERA) Mempool.space Stephan Livera links: Follow me on X: @stephanlivera Subscribe t...
Feb 27, 2024•1 hr 8 min•Season 1Ep. 553
