Satoshi's Plebs

For the final episode of Satoshi’s Plebs , McIntosh and Kenshin reflect on the journey of the show, their enduring conviction in Bitcoin, and the reality that life, work, and new ventures have made it impossible to keep the podcast going at the level it deserves. They talk about the current Bitcoin landscape, from falling hash rate and mining companies pivoting to AI, to renewed ETF activity and t...

Episode 250 of Satoshi’s Plebs is a milestone show and a bit of a release party, as McIntosh and Kenshin pull back the curtain on a new AI-focused business venture: Arx Labs . The conversation centers on the opportunity they see in bringing practical, managed AI agents to small and medium-sized businesses in a way that is simple, affordable, and actually usable for non-technical people. They also...

In this episode, McIntosh and Kenshin talk through what it actually looks like to start building a business from scratch in a world shaped by both Bitcoin and AI. The conversation stays practical and grounded, covering the excitement of new ideas, the frustration of getting tools and workflows to behave reliably, and the reality that building something useful is usually messier and slower than peo...

In this episode of Satoshi’s Plebs , McIntosh and Kenshin explore how Bitcoin is reshaping the payment landscape for merchants and consumers, focusing on the concept of “settlement rails” and what happens behind the scenes when money moves. They break down traditional systems like credit cards, ACH, and wire transfers—highlighting fees, delays, intermediaries, and chargebacks—before contrasting th...

In this episode, McIntosh and Kenshin reflect on a major Bitcoin milestone and use it as a jumping-off point for a broader conversation about where Bitcoin came from and why its foundations still matter. Along the way, they mix in some personal updates, thoughts on technology, and the bigger picture of how digital tools are changing the way we live and work. The discussion then turns to the Cypher...

McIntosh and Kenshin check in and talk about navigating the bear market with a clear head—how to think about volatility, keep perspective, and stay focused on stacking and building instead of stressing over day-to-day price swings. They also touch on how Bitcoin has been behaving in broader markets and why that doesn’t necessarily change the long-term thesis. They wrap with a few updates from the...

This week on Satoshi’s Plebs , McIntosh flies solo while Kenshin takes the week off, and uses the downtime to riff on a question that’s been nagging at him: how does AI actually “pay for things” once agents start doing real work in the world? He shares a bit of personal momentum—how fast modern AI tooling is letting him build software—and then pivots into why Bitcoin (especially Lightning, and pos...

This week McIntosh and Kenshin tackle the part of Bitcoin everyone thinks they understand… right up until a transaction gets stuck: fees, mempool dynamics, and UTXO hygiene . They frame fees as a live market for scarce blockspace, explain what you’re actually paying for (sats/vbyte), and show how transaction “weight” changes based on inputs/outputs—why a “cheap” fee rate can still be expensive if...

This week Macintosh and Kenshin break down Bitcoin multisig: what it is, why it exists, and how it reduces single points of failure in self-custody. They walk through common setups (1-of-2, 2-of-2, 2-of-3, 3-of-5), why complexity is both a feature and a risk, and best practices like geographic distribution, avoiding single-vendor signer risk, and testing recovery before you commit meaningful funds...

In Episode 242 of Satoshi’s Plebs, McIntosh and Kenshin talk through how Bitcoin serves the unbanked—people with little or no access to traditional banking due to geography, documentation, KYC/AML barriers, profit-driven gatekeeping, political targeting, and capital controls. They frame Bitcoin’s core advantage as permissionless access: it doesn’t care who you are or where you live—only whether yo...

Episode 241 is a “look back to look forward” kind of conversation: Kenshin and McIntosh talk through a rough week, the grind of finishing projects, and the mental toll of doom-and-gloom news cycles—then deliberately pivot to a more optimistic, long-term lens. McIntosh also shares early progress on a new open-source side project: a Nostr-powered, end-to-end encrypted “email-like” messaging concept...

Episode 240 is a wide-ranging catch-up that turns into a love letter to “running Bitcoin.” McIntosh and Kenshin swap life updates (including Kenshin’s push to launch a new project and McIntosh’s experiments with ChatGPT/Codex), then McIntosh shares a big workflow win: an automated script that pulls episode data straight from the RSS feed to generate the show’s episode pages—turning a manual, repet...

McIntosh and Kenshin return after a two-week holiday break to discuss their predictions for 2026. They commemorate the 17th anniversary of Bitcoin's Genesis block (January 3, 2009) and discuss the upcoming anniversary of the first Bitcoin transaction to Hal Finney. Kenshin surprises by flipping bullish for 2026 despite his previous bearish stance, while both hosts share personal goals including po...

In this year-end review episode, we take an honest look at our 2025 predictions and how they held up against reality. Bitcoin started the year around $94k with high expectations, hit $122k in October, but closed near $87k - not quite the moonshot we anticipated. The institutional adoption we were excited about brought mixed results, with Wall Street playing their own games rather than simply pumpi...

In this episode, Mcintosh and Kenshin discuss the IMF's influence over El Salvador's Bitcoin adoption, exploring how international financial institutions exert control over sovereign nations through monetary policy. The conversation expands to examine France's ongoing monetary colonialism in Africa through the CFA franc system, and how organizations like the IMF enable economic control over develo...

In this episode, McIntosh and Kenshin react to the Federal Reserve's latest quarter-point rate cut and discuss its implications for Bitcoin. They explore the broader economic landscape, including concerns about AI's impact on employment and the economy, the potential for an AI bubble, and what various economic scenarios could mean for Bitcoin's future. The hosts also touch on the challenges of mon...

McIntosh and Kenshin explore the dangerous world of "fiat games" and their consequences across global markets. They discuss Cardano's spectacular collapse after an AI-assisted coding error split the blockchain, triggering FBI involvement, and celebrate Texas becoming the first US state to actually purchase Bitcoin with $5M in iBit ETF. The Federal Reserve's pivot back to quantitative easing with a...

In this Thanksgiving-themed episode, McIntosh and Kenshin discuss what they're thankful for regarding Bitcoin. They reflect on their gratitude lists from the previous year and share new perspectives, including appreciation for Bitcoin's educational value in economics, its ability to encourage long-term thinking, and the growing possibility of it becoming a neutral global reserve currency. They als...

In this episode, McIntosh and Kenshin dive into the current Bitcoin market conditions and whether we're heading into a bear market. With Bitcoin hovering around $83,000—down roughly 34% from its all-time high—the hosts debate what historical patterns suggest versus what unique factors might be at play this cycle. They discuss the impact of ETF selling pressure (including BlackRock's record outflow...

In this episode, hosts McIntosh and Kenshin explore whether quantum computing poses a real threat to Bitcoin. They discuss findings from the Presidio Bitcoin Quantum Summit, where experts' concern about cryptographically relevant quantum computers arriving within 5-20 years increased after the event. However, the hosts emphasize this is not an imminent threat—current quantum computers are extremel...

In this episode, McIntosh and Kenshin have an honest conversation about the podcast's sustainability and future direction. After over four years of producing content, they discuss the challenges of maintaining a value-for-value podcast and share their plans to improve the show through better audio quality, enhanced content, and potentially bringing in sponsors while maintaining their ethical stand...

In this episode, McIntosh and Kenshin tackle the question on everyone's mind: is this the start of a bear market? With Bitcoin consolidating around $107k and noise on the internet getting louder about a potential downturn, the hosts dive into price action, market sentiment, and what indicators might signal a true bear market versus healthy consolidation. News Proton at the United Nations Forum Sig...

In this week's episode, McIntosh and Kenshin answer listener questions from Nostr, covering topics ranging from European Bitcoin adoption to the future of decentralized social media. The hosts discuss where European Bitcoiners might consider relocating as regulations tighten, with Switzerland emerging as a top choice despite its costs. They tackle questions about Bitcoin's role as money versus sto...

McIntosh and Kenshin discuss the European Central Bank's push for a digital euro as a sovereignty move against US dollar dominance and stablecoins. They cover Switzerland's erosion of privacy laws forcing Proton to relocate servers, the EU's proposed chat control legislation, and September's bullish close for Bitcoin signaling potential strong Q4 gains. Plus: next week's listener Q&A Zapathon....

In episode 227, McIntosh and Kenshin examine Executive Order 6102 from 1933, when FDR forced Americans to surrender their gold at $20.67 per ounce before the government revalued it to $35, creating a massive wealth transfer. They debate whether a similar Bitcoin confiscation could occur, discussing how centralized exchanges would be vulnerable while self-custodied Bitcoin presents unique enforceme...