Jameson Lopp: On Being a Professional Cypherpunk

We’re joined by Jameson Lopp. Jameson is the CTO of Casa, a company providing key storage solutions. Previously, he was an early engineer at BitGo. However, to most people, he is perhaps known for his Twitter presence and his excellent writing. Over the years, Jameson has written extensively about Bitcoin development, cryptocurrencies, and personal operational security. A self-proclaimed “Professional Cypherpunk,” aligns with the ideas of libertarianism and volunteerism.

Topics covered in this episode:

• Jameson’s background and how he learned about Bitcoin
• His political view before and after discovering crypto
• What stands out for Bitcoin in 2018
• His writing on the decentralized nature of Bitcoin Core development
• His views on how Bitcoin compares to Ethereum on the topic of development control
• His thoughts on the Lightning Network and smart contracts on top of Bitcoin
• Jameson’s approach to personal operational security
• The tradeoffs of having air-tight personal OpSec
• Casa and its vault offering

Episode links:

• Jameson Lopp's website
• Jameson Lopp's Bitcoin Resources
• CRYPTO 101 interview with Jameson Lopp
• Bitcoin Full Validation Sync Performance (article)
• Reflections Upon a SWATting (article)
• Bitcoin By the Numbers: 2018 Recap (article)
• Who Controls Bitcoin Core? (article)
• Professional Cypherpunk Jameson Lopp on the Lightning Network (article)
• Decentralized Summit 2019

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This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/272