Stephan Livera Podcast

Julie Landrum of OpenNode joins me to talk about what they’re building to help people onboard to Bitcoin & the lightning network as a payment standard. OpenNode first got its name as a merchant payment processor but we chat about how the company has grown and evolved over the years. We chat: Bitcoin infrastructure services for merchants, bitcoin companies Dealing with the cyclical nature of Bi...

Josef Tetek of Trezor (and contributor at Bitcoin Magazine) joins me on the show to talk about: The liberty movement in Europe The connection between Austrian economics and bitcoin Fractional and full reserve visions of bitcoin’s future Why HODLing is rational Nakamoto-Gresham’s law and how most get Gresham’s law wrong Links: Twitter: @SatsJoseph Article: What is Nakamoto-Gresham’s Law and How doe...

John Cantrell of L2 Technology and Spiral BTC grantee rejoins me on the show to talk about his latest work in making Bitcoin and the lightning network more accessible for the many. Sensei can be thought of as an LND or c-lightning but for LDK. We chat: John’s journey since cracking Alistair Milne’s 12 word seed How sensei works Trade offs How the child node concept works What does it look like if...

Matt Hill of Start9 Labs rejoins me on the show to talk about where the world is at, and a surprising argument that might actually be true. Sovereign Tech may be adopted, not merely because of privacy, but because of being lower cost. We chat: Canada Truckers and the broader fight for freedom Is it a question of tools or winning hearts and minds? What’s new and coming in EmbassyOS v0.3.0? Why cost...

Jeff Vandrew of Unchained Capital joins me on the show to share his thoughts on Bitcoin for the very long term. Where is it going, and how should you think about using the retirement system to potentially stack more sats? We chat: Where is Bitcoin going over the long term? What happens if more states make Bitcoin legal tender? How big is the market for retirement savings What about just stacking s...

Benny Peiser of Net Zero Watch joins me on the show to talk about ‘net zero’ and the inaccuracy in the presentation of arguments on renewables. We discuss: What is ‘net zero’ Accurate treatment of costs and benefits How much of it is regulation or market choice ESG box ticking The impact on everyday people ‘Greenwashing’ by some countries Why it will crash Links: Twitter: @netzerowatch Site: netze...

Chris Stewart Founder and CEO of Suredbits joins me on the show to talk about the latest with Bitcoin DLCs. You might have heard my earlier show with Nadav Kohen but in this one we chat: ‘Maximalism’ and tech ‘Policing activity’ Block space market over time Where DLCs are at today Lightning DLCs vs on-chain DLCs Doing stablechannels Practical and commercial applications Umbrel app Links: Twitter:...

Nick Hansen, CEO and Founder of Luxor Technology joins me to talk about the bitcoin mining scene, the narrative around bitcoin mining energy use and Proof of Work, Demand Response, ‘ESG’, China ban, Intel coming into the mining game, and hash rate derivatives. Links: Twitter: @hash_bender Site: luxor.tech Sponsors: Swan Bitcoin Hodl Hodl Lend Compass Mining Braiins.com Unchained Capital (code LIVE...

Kyle Murphy of Pleb Lab and Austin Bitcoin Club joins me on the show to talk about the Austin Bitcoin scene and his role in growing it. We also get into what Pleb Lab is and the bitcoin entrepreneurship in Austin, Texas. This is a great show to get a sense of the community in Austin as well as thoughts on how Bitcoin’s ecosystem grows. Links: Twitter: @The_bitcoin_bum Site: PlebLab.com Site: Austi...

Nicolas Burtey of Galoy Money rejoins me on the show for a fascinating discussion about doing synthetic USD as a building block to bringing it to the Bitcoin Beach wallet. We talk about: The latest with Galoy Bitcoin Banking 4 ways of doing synthetic USD value Why is it necessary? How to fund it? Risks Links: Twitter: @NicolasBurtey Twitter: GaloyMoney Site: Galoy.io Github: GitHub - GaloyMoney/ga...

Danny Brewster, Founder & CEO of FastBitcoins joins me on the show to chat: Dealing with regulation as a bitcoin business Products and services for bitcoiners Expanding into new markets around the world Challenges and rewards of being bitcoin only Bitcoin builders and why we need them Links: Twitter: @BTCDanny Site: FastBitcoins.com FastBitcoins Twitter: @FastBitcoins Sponsors: Swan Bitcoin Ho...

NVK, co founder and CEO of CoinKite rejoins me on the show to talk about the latest and exciting developments in the world of Bitcoin hardware security. CoinKite are pushing forward with NFC as a way of making hardware wallet UX easy but also keeping the hardware accessible from a cost point of view We chat: What’s changing with Coldcard Mk4 Memory, SE, processor NFC for bitcoin transactions Tapsi...

R0ckstar dev & Pavlenex of BTCPay Server and other projects (Strike, Bitcoin Smiles, Bitcoin Design) rejoin me on the show to talk about Bitcoin, Open Source community ethos, and how it can lead to career opportunities. We chat: BTCPay 4 years on Open Source for hiring Bitcoinerjobs.com How open source projects mature How to grow the project How to move on from a project R0ckstar’s big announc...

Heavily Armed Clown (aka HAC) joins me on the show to talk about this idea of #GetOnZero. We chat: The case for #GetOnZeroFiat Issues with it Dealing with CGT Mindset shifts Emergency fund Inflation rates What scenarios you still need to hold fiat Links: Twitter: @heavilyarmedc Site: Bitcoinechochamber.com Site: WTFHappenedIn1971.com Stephan’s article discussed: Is It Time For Bitcoiners To Get On...

Zelko and Din join me to talk about updates with the Ronin Dojo project for Samourai Wallet users. We chat: Where the project started FOSS project ethos Thoughts on VC funding Privacy wallets Bitcoin node project evolution FOSS business & project Tanto Hardware Supporting Specter and Sparrow Links: Twitter: @RoninDojoNode Site: RoninDojo Din: @Din_J76 Zelko: @BTCxZelko Sponsors: Swan Bitcoin H...

Peter Young of the Free Private City Foundation joins me on the show to talk about some of his experiences on the ground and some updates with Free Private Cities. We chat: El Salvador on the ground Bitcoin and Lightning in the real world What it really costs to do merchant processing Free Private Cities Honduras ZEDEs Liberty In Our Lifetime Links: Twitter: @petermiyoung Site: Free Private Cities...

Jeremy Rubin, bitcoin core contributor joins me on the show to talk about Check Template Verify (CTV) - his soft fork proposal to bring new functionality to Bitcoin. We discuss: How the idea started High level goals with Bitcoin How CTV might bring new functionality Congestion control use case Vaults and protecting coins Contrasting CTV with APO ANYPREVOUT Commercial use of CTV Links: BIP: CHECK T...

Mauricio Di Bartolomeo, Co Founder and CSO of Ledn joins me on the show to talk: Why use bitcoin backed loans? Fiat loan rates vs bitcoin loan rates Opportunities and risks New products and structures for home loans Dealing with margin calls and liquidation Stablecoins: are they essential? Where is the market going on this? Links: Twitter: @cryptonomista Site: Ledn.io Other episodes: SLP236 Nic Ca...

Salvatore Ingala of Ledger joins me to talk about a big revamp of the Ledger Bitcoin app which brings support for a whole host of new features. We chat about: How the app shifted from v1 to v2 PSBT Taproot support Descriptors Merkle Trees Improved multi-signature and scripting support Links: Twitter: @salvatoshi Blog post: Bitcoin 2.0.0 App For Ledger Other relevant episodes: SLP99 Andrew Chow - H...

Sam Callahan of Swan Bitcoin joins me on the show to talk about the Bank of International Settlements (BIS). We chat about: Formation, and shady history Why it’s not accountable Their plans for social control CBDCs Loss of privacy War on Cash What can be done? Links: Twitter: @samcallah Thread: https://twitter.com/samcallah/status/1473815145545551873 Sponsors: Swan Bitcoin Hodl Hodl Lend Compass M...

Now there’s been some discussion about the impact of Venture Capitalists on the world of Bitcoin and ‘Crypto’. Don Stuart, startup investor & organizer of Kansas City Bitcoin meetup, joins me on the show to chat: What Venture Capital is Venture Capital model Vesting and incentives for VCs How they make money Bitcoin vs ‘Crypto’ VC Size of rounds raised Are Bitcoiners anti VC? In what cases doe...

Jeff Booth, author, entrepreneur and speaker joins me to chat about the year 2021 in review for Bitcoiners. Some themes we discuss: Where the narrative is going with Bitcoin Fiat denomination vs Bitcoin denomination How politicians and regulators are seeing it Community building Bitcoin wallets and services Bitcoin tech Dealing with fear Links: Twitter: @JeffBooth Site: The Price of Tomorrow - And...

Cory Klippsten of Swan Bitcoin rejoins me on the show to talk about a range of things: “Crypto” advocacy as compared to Bitcoin advocacy Being an investor in the space & Bitcoiner Ventures Turkey inflation Avoiding trading Bitcoiner Jobs Swan Gifts Links: Twitter: @coryklippsten The Daily Bitcoiner: cory.substack.com Bitcoiner Jobs: bitcoinerjobs.co Bitcoiner Ventures: bitcoinerventures.com Ar...

Vijay Boyapati, author and regular guest rejoins me on the show to chat about his recent book launch as well as a few ideas that specifically came from the book. We also chat about some of his more ‘bearish’ ideas on Bitcoin and that Bitcoin is not inevitable. Credentialism and fiat The book and response Stages of money Custodial risk Rehypothecation Concerted state attack on Bitcoin Bitcoin is no...

Chaumian e-cash is a predecessor idea to Bitcoin. Listen in to Stephan and Eric Sirion (elsirion) discuss the idea of federated mints and this particular idea of MiniMint. Eric’s research is being sponsored by Blockstream. This idea may offer even more privacy and scalability for Bitcoin users, but with some custodial and trust trade offs. How it works Custodial trade offs and who should use it Ho...