Privacy tradeoffs and societal signaling

In this episode, I’m joined by Simple Steve, Bitcoin Mechanic, and Jeff Swann for a year-end roundtable that starts with the Samourai Wallet case, spirals into quantum fears, and keeps coming back to the same question - how do you build freedom tech without painting a target on your back?

We dig into CoinJoin, coordinators, and why privacy tools can suddenly become "hostile activity" when the state decides it wants a villain. What happens when spam wars collide with soft fork politics, mempool policy, and proposals like BIP-110 and “the CAT”? If governments are openly pushing CBDCs while quietly leaning on miners, what does censorship resistance actually mean when only a handful of entities build most blocks?

Along the way we hit the UK’s escalating crackdowns (including the direction things are heading for jury trials), the weird incentives and contradictions in the “confiscation” arguments, and why the sly roundabout way might be the only way that wins long-term. It’s a little chaotic, a little salty, and exactly the kind of conversation I want on the last roundtable of 2025.

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Guest Links

• Steve Simple Nostr (Link: https://tinyurl.com/3s6a8yn8)
• Steve Simple on X (Link: https://x.com/stevesimple)
• Bitcoin Mechanic Nostr (Link: https://tinyurl.com/2tm827ut)
• Bitcoin Mechanic on X (Link: https://x.com/GrassFedBitcoin)
• Jeff Swann Nostr (Link: https://tinyurl.com/3sjc3bcp)
• Jeff Swann on X (Link: https://x.com/agoristview)

Host Links

• ⁠Guy on Nostr ⁠(Link: http://tinyurl.com/2xc96ney)
• ⁠Guy on X ⁠(Link: https://twitter.com/theguyswann)
• Guy on Instagram (Link: https://www.instagram.com/theguyswann)
• Guy on TikTok (Link: https://www.tiktok.com/@theguyswann)
• Guy on YouTube (Link: https://www.youtube.com/@theguyswann)
• ⁠Bitcoin Audible on X⁠ (Link: https://twitter.com/BitcoinAudible)
• The Guy Swann Network Broadcast Room on Keet (Link: https://tinyurl.com/3na6v839)