Roundtable_016 - From Keonne to Quantum and Building the Sly Roundabout Way

13 snips

Jan 2, 2026

Guest

Jeff Swann

In a lively year-end roundtable, guests Bitcoin Mechanic, a tech-savvy developer; Simple Steve, a keen commentator on privacy and UX; and Jeff Swann, an insightful analyst on political and economic issues, tackle pressing Bitcoin topics. They unravel the implications of the Samourai Wallet case and explore fears surrounding quantum threats. The conversation dives into the politics of censorship, mining incentives, and the dangers of centralization, questioning the future of decentralized tools in an increasingly scrutinizing world.

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INSIGHT

Spam Wars Reveal Pragmatism vs Ideology

Bitcoin's spam wars and soft-fork debates expose trade-offs between pragmatism and ideology.
Guy Swann argues pragmatic, low-risk soft barriers could've mitigated spam without heavy forks.

INSIGHT

CAT Frames Spam As UTXO Cleanup

The CAT proposal would mark many spam UTXOs non-monetary and remove them from the UTXO set.
Bitcoin Mechanic views it as pragmatic cleanup that targets ~250 BTC of dust-like spam outputs.

INSIGHT

Block Template Centralization Threatens Censorship Resistance

Censorship risk grows when a small number of entities produce most blocks and control templates.
Jeff Swann warns decentralized block-template construction is necessary for real censorship resistance.

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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)