

S16 E47: Max Hillebrand on White Noise & Private Messaging on Nostr
Oct 2, 2025
04:02:36
Max Hillebrand makes his 8th appearance on the Bitcoin Takeover Podcast in order to talk about his latest project: White Noise, a private messaging application for Nostr. We also talk about Core v30 vs Knots, Bitcoin layer 2s & other bull market topics.
Time stamps:
00:01:07 - Max Hillebrand's Background
00:02:47 - Post-Wasabi Wallet Era and Privacy Challenges
00:04:28 - Nostr Protocol Overview
00:05:58 - Early Nostr Experiences and Key Loss
00:08:51 - Nostr Client Progress and Edge Cases
00:09:58 - Nostr's Relation to Bitcoin
00:13:53 - Hardware Wallets for Nostr Keys
00:18:06 - Nostr Key Backups and Security
00:21:53 - Nostr Search and Web of Trust
00:24:21 - Ads: Bitcoin.com News and NoOnes.com
00:26:12 - White Noise Protocol Introduction
00:27:52 - NIP 44 and Gift Wraps for Encryption
00:30:20 - Signal Protocol and MLS Evolution
00:32:16 - MLS Protocol Details
00:33:23 - Nostr Privacy Limitations
00:35:17 - Trusted Relays and Metadata
00:37:25 - Nostr as Data Delivery Layer
00:38:41 - Self-Authentication in MLS
00:40:02 - Group Creation and Key Packages
00:42:38 - MLS vs. Major League Soccer Joke
00:42:53 - Diffie-Hellman and Scaling to Millions
00:44:24 - MLS Key Tree Structure
00:46:59 - Scalability Benefits of MLS
01:18:00 - Marmot and Nostr Tools
01:25:30 - The Zcash Pump Dance
03:09:25 - Angor Protocol for Recurring Payments
03:14:02 - Bitcoin Script and Smart Contracts
03:15:32 - Great Script Restoration Proposal
03:21:03 - Builder Spirit in Bitcoin vs. Ethereum
03:25:19 - Bills of Exchange and Peer-to-Peer Credit
03:33:09 - Historical Finance and Farming
03:38:35 - Starting Bitcoin Meetups
03:41:43 - Localizing Bitcoin Content
03:44:17 - Recommended Podcasts
03:47:48 - Podcast Benefits and Guest Interactions
03:54:39 - Audience Quality and Impact
03:55:36 - White Noise Future and Building Freedom Tech
03:58:51 - AI Coding and Proof of Concepts
04:00:38 - Nym Mixnet Integration
04:01:54 - Closing Remarks and Future Sessions