Episoder
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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) - Ossification and gardening
(06:06) - Where are the ossifiers?
(09:03) - Fixing bugs on the Bitcoin protocol
(17:13) - Assessing BIPs & change proposals
(23:53) - NVK on Bitcoin as SOV and/or MOE
(31:47) - Sponsors
(34:58) - “USD is the best shitcoin”
(37:32) - The fate of other blockchains
(45:41) - Putting Bitcoin on a pedestal?
(49:32) - Gresham’s Law in context of Bitcoin
(51:34) - Future path for Bitcoin
(57:27) - Outro
Sponsors:
Swan.com (code LIVERA)
CoinKite.com (code LIVERA)
Mempool.space
Stephan Livera links:
Follow me on X: @stephanlivera
Subscribe to the podcast
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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)
(08:15) - Implications of Truc
(12:26) - What is mempool cluster?
(14:08) - P2P encryption on Bitcoin core V27.0
(15:22) - Upcoming developments on Bitcoin core
(18:04) - Sponsors(20:13) - Laolu (Roasbeef) on Taproot assets
(25:29) - LSP Challenges on issuing stablecoins
(28:21) - Views on covenants
(31:51) - Ensuring protocol safety while enabling Opcodes
(34:33) - Saifedean’s views on Bitcoin Seoul 2024
(34:44) - Central Bank behaving like a private organisation
(40:21) - ‘The Keynesian Voodoo’
(46:35) - All roads lead to Bitcoin
(48:26) - Sponsors
(50:45) - Latest developments at Fedi with Obi Nwosu
(52:23) - Role of the Fedimint Guardians
(54:40) - Fees on Fedi
(56:18) - Fedi’s Social backup and recovery model
(58:26) - Risks of getting rugged
(1:01:23) - Fedi is trust-reduced
(1:03:11) - Jimmy Song’s views on Bitcoin Seoul 2024
(1:04:18) - Views on Bitcoin’s Technical developments
(1:05:46) - Savings culture among Koreans & role of Bitcoin
(1:09:16) - Outro
Links:
X: x.com/saifedean
Saifedean episode: https://saifedean.com/podcast/222-central-banking-works
X: x.com/glozow
Bitcoin review club: https://bitcoincore.reviews/
BIP 431: https://github.com/bitcoin/bips/blob/master/bip-0431.mediawiki
X: x.com/obi
Fedi: https://www.fedi.xyz/
X: x.com/roasbeef
Lightning Labs: https://lightning.engineering/
X: https://x.com/kcalvinalvinn
Utreexod beta release: https://groups.google.com/g/bitcoindev/c/5GyV9af9lv4?pli=1
X: x.com/jimmysong
Sponsors:
Swan.com (code LIVERA) CoinKite.com (code LIVERA) Mempool.space Nomadcapitalist.com/applyStephan Livera links:
Follow me on X: @stephanlivera Subscribe to the podcast Subscribe to Substack -
Manglende episoder?
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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) - Expressivity on Bitcoin
(31:21) - Sponsors
(35:24) - Does the 10 minute block time mitigate MEV?
(40:27) - Is Bitcoin more than ‘money’?
(46:05) - Fake L2's on Bitcoin
(51:24) - Does MEV lead to miner centralisation?
(56:15) - Closing thoughts on MEV
Links:
X: @waltjsmith
X: @cyberFund_
Site: cyber.fund
Article: The Spectre of MEV on Bitcoin
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
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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 website from sethforprivacy : Privacy-preserving static addresses for Bitcoin
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
Timestamps:
(00:00) - Intro
(01:01) - Overview of Silent Payments (SP)
(03:15) - History of the SP idea & contrast with other methods
Add more
(14:36) - Current status of SP development & adoption
(17:49) - Testing light clients for SP
(21:50) - The Silent Payment Experience
(26:31) - Light client support
(31:20) - What is a light client?
(38:05) - Sponsors
(41:16) - Spend Key & Scan Key
(42:37) - XPUB vs. Silent Payments
(44:42) - Reducing address re-use with SP
(49:29) - Labeling with Silent Payments
(53:14) - Ease of use and compatibility with Lightning
(57:03) - Overcoming the ‘silver bullet’ mindset
(01:10:50) - Composability with Silent Payments
(01:12:46) - Silent Payments summary
(01:14:06) - Closing Thoughts
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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 to Substack
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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 enable shitcoins and spam?
Relevant previous episodes:
SLP565 Great Consensus Clean up, MEVil and LN isn’t dead – Steve Lee and Matt Corallo
SLP573 A Shift in Bitcoin Developer Thought? with Brandon Black (aka reardencode)
Links:
Rusty’s BTC plus plus talk on GSR
https://x.com/rusty_twit
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
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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 KitLinks:
X: @bitgould X: @payjoindevkit Site: PayjoinDevKit.org Site: Payjoin.orgSponsors:
Swan.com (code LIVERA) CoinKite.com (code LIVERA) Mempool.spaceStephan Livera links:
Follow me on X: @stephanlivera Subscribe to the podcast Subscribe to Substack -
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 MiningLinks:
X: @_Adam_Sullivan1 Core Scientific: Corescientific.comSponsors:
Swan.com (code LIVERA) CoinKite.com (code LIVERA) Mempool.spaceStephan Livera links:
Follow me on X: @stephanlivera Subscribe to the podcast Subscribe to Substack -
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: Swan.com Site: Nakamotoportfolio.com Nakamoto Gauntlet: The Nakamoto Portfolio GauntletSponsors:
Swan.com (code LIVERA) CoinKite.com (code LIVERA) Mempool.spaceStephan Livera links:
Follow me on X: @stephanlivera Subscribe to the podcast Subscribe to Substack -
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 engineeringLinks:
X: @reardencode Bitcoin++: btcplusplus.dev Rusty’s talk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rSp8918HLnASponsors:
Swan.com (code LIVERA) CoinKite.com (code LIVERA) Mempool.spaceStephan Livera links:
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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 featureLinks:
X: @mbraticevic Site: Primal.net Miljan’s Nostr npub: npub16c0nh3dnadzqpm76uctf5hqhe2lny344zsmpm6feee9p5rdxaa9q586nvr Miljan’s Nostr: [email protected]Sponsors:
Swan.com (code LIVERA) CoinKite.com (code LIVERA) Mempool.space Nomadcapitalist.com/applyStephan Livera links:
Follow me on X: @stephanlivera Subscribe to the podcast Subscribe to Substack -
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 systemLinks:
X: @peruvian_bull Nostr: npub1xwmyzp64xx03kw9ecd7fzsj3e9dgwah6an0rdng0cc6ux4dswwjs28pyyc Newsletter: https://substack.com/@peruvianbullSponsors:
Swan.com (code LIVERA) CoinKite.com (code LIVERA) Mempool.spaceStephan Livera links:
Follow me on X: @stephanlivera Subscribe to the podcast Subscribe to Substack -
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 lostLinks:
X: @parkeralewis Site: Zaprite.com Get Parker’s Book: thesifhouse.comSponsors:
Swan.com (code LIVERA) CoinKite.com (code LIVERA) Mempool.spaceStephan Livera links:
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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.spaceStephan Livera links:
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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 CapitalSponsors:
Swan.com (code LIVERA) CoinKite.com (code LIVERA) Mempool.space Nomadcapitalist.com/liveStephan Livera links:
Follow me on X: @stephanlivera Subscribe to the podcast Subscribe to Substack -
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 growsLinks:
X: @PrestonPysh TIP: theinvestorspodcast.com nostr: npub1s5yq6wadwrxde4lhfs56gn64hwzuhnfa6r9mj476r5s4hkunzgzqrs6q7zSponsors:
Swan.com (code LIVERA) CoinKite.com (code LIVERA) Mempool.space Nomadcapitalist.com/liveStephan Livera links:
Follow me on X: @stephanlivera Subscribe to the podcast Subscribe to Substack -
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 SharingLinks:
X: @nedos LinkedIn: Dmitry Nedospasov Site: Keylabs.io Telegram: https://t.me/nedos wallet.fail talk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y1OBIGslgGM Recoverylabs.ioSponsors:
Swan.com (code LIVERA) CoinKite.com (code LIVERA) Mempool.spaceStephan Livera links:
Follow me on X: @stephanlivera Subscribe to the podcast Subscribe to Substack -
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 MEV BIP Proposal: The Great Consensus Cleanup Delving post on Great Consensus Clean up Revival Steve’s X thread on GCC: https://twitter.com/moneyball/status/1760839436617875485Sponsors:
Swan.com (code LIVERA) CoinKite.com (code LIVERA) Mempool.spaceStephan Livera links:
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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: @nomadcapitalistSponsors:
Swan.com (code LIVERA) CoinKite.com (code LIVERA) Mempool.space Nomadcapitalist.com/liveStephan Livera links:
Follow me on X: @stephanlivera Subscribe to the podcast Subscribe to Substack -
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 forksLinks:
X: @KLoaec X: @Wizardsardine X: @revaultdev Site: WizardsardineSponsors:
Swan.com (code LIVERA) CoinKite.com (code LIVERA) Mempool.spaceStephan Livera links:
Follow me on X: @stephanlivera Subscribe to the podcast Subscribe to SubstackChapters:
00:00 - Intro 02:07 - Revault 08:07 - Liana 14:48 - Overview of Liana and Supported Hardware Wallets 25:17 - Managing Time Locks in Liana: Rotating Coins and Duration 29:47 - Coinkite.com 30:47 - Swan.com 32:09 - Mempool.space 33:10 - Self-Custody with Liana 37:26 - Understanding Revault and Liana 44:56 - Exploring Decaying and Expanding Multi-Signature 49:15 - RBF and CPFP in Liana Transactions 56:07 - Transaction Size in Liana 01:00:42 - The Debate on Covenants 01:05:37 - Enhancing Organization Security with Cosigners 01:09:30 - The Future of Self-Custody - Vis mere