UNGOVERNABLE Ghostly Messenger with Miguel | FREEDOM TECH FRIDAY 63
Oct 30, 2026
01:02:36
A weekly live show covering all things Freedom Tech with Max, Q and Seth.
This week we're joined by Miguel Medeiros, last on the show in February with his phoenixd dashboard. Since then he's shipped Ghostly, a peer to peer encrypted messenger with a wallet built in and no server at all, over 4,000 commits in eight months with version 1.6.0 out this week. He talks us through how it grew out of an earlier project with Nuvi building a decentralised DNS on the Mainline DHT (the same network BitTorrent runs on), how he stumbled into turning that into a chat system, and how he bridges peers from the DHT into WebRTC, Iroh or HyperDHT so two people can talk with no server in the middle and nothing left behind once they do.
Most of the demo is practical: wallets for Cashu, Lightning, Ark, Spark, Fedimint, on-chain and USDT sit inside the chat itself, so you can send sats to a contact the same way you'd send a message. He shows off proving identities (Nostr, PGP, SSH, a domain via a TXT record) without any server checking the proof for you, sharing a localhost web app with a contact, and the built in app store: chess, a Quake deathmatch, a shared Minecraft-style world and a cinema for watching films together. He also shows how he runs his own AI agents as contacts inside Ghostly itself, coordinating a "war room" of coding agents that patch and bug-hunt the project while he's away from his desk, and compares the project to Keet and White Noise. Max presses him on why anyone would move their group chats over from Signal or Telegram, and the main sticking point is syncing the same profile across devices, which Miguel's still working on.
We also get a tour of his other project, miguelmedeiros.dev, a drivable 3D island built with three.js that doubles as his portfolio: driving, flying or sailing between Mempool Plaza (live blocks from mempool.space), his GitHub Castle, Elektron Mining and a Lightning-powered boat ride, with 47 achievements and multiplayer built in. Links: Ghostly, Ghostly web app, Ghostly on GitHub, miguelmedeiros.dev, Miguel on X, Miguel on GitHub.
HELP GET SAMOURAI A PARDON
TO DONATE TO ROMAN'S DEFENSE FUND: https://freeromanstorm.com/donate
VALUE FOR VALUE
Thanks for listening you Ungovernable lot, we appreciate your continued support and hope you enjoy the shows.
You can support this episode using your time, talent or treasure.
TIME:
- create fountain clips for the show
- create a meetup
- help boost the signal on social media
TALENT:
- create ungovernable misfit inspired art, animation or music
- design or implement some software that can make the podcast better
- use whatever talents you have to make a contribution to the show!
TREASURE:
- BOOST IT OR STREAM SATS on the Podcasting 2.0 apps @ https://podcastapps.com
- DONATE via Monero @ https://xmrchat.com/ungovernable
- BUY SOME STICKERS @ https://ungovernable.network/shop/
FOUNDATION
https://foundation.xyz/ungovernable
Foundation builds Bitcoin-centric tools that empower you to reclaim your digital sovereignty.
As a sovereign computing company, Foundation is the antithesis of today’s tech conglomerates. Returning to cypherpunk principles, they build open source technology that “can’t be evil”.
Thank you Foundation Devices for sponsoring the show!
Use code: Ungovernable for $10 off of your purchase
CAKE WALLET
https://cakewallet.com
Cake Wallet is an open-source, non-custodial wallet available on Android, iOS, macOS, and Linux.
Features:
- Built-in Exchange: Swap easily between Bitcoin and Monero.
- User-Friendly: Simple interface for all users.
Monero Users:
- Batch Transactions: Send multiple payments at once.
- Faster Syncing: Optimized syncing via specified restore heights
- Proxy Support: Enhance privacy with proxy node options.
Bitcoin Users:
- Coin Control: Manage your transactions effectively.
- Silent Payments: Static bitcoin addresses
- Batch Transactions: Streamline your payment process.
Thank you Cake Wallet for sponsoring the show!
MYNYMBOX
https://mynymbox.io
Your go-to for anonymous server hosting solutions, featuring: virtual private & dedicated servers, domain registration and DNS parking. We don't require any of your personal information, and you can purchase using Bitcoin, Lightning, Monero and many other cryptos.
Explore benefits such as No KYC, complete privacy & security, and human support.
This week we're joined by Miguel Medeiros, last on the show in February with his phoenixd dashboard. Since then he's shipped Ghostly, a peer to peer encrypted messenger with a wallet built in and no server at all, over 4,000 commits in eight months with version 1.6.0 out this week. He talks us through how it grew out of an earlier project with Nuvi building a decentralised DNS on the Mainline DHT (the same network BitTorrent runs on), how he stumbled into turning that into a chat system, and how he bridges peers from the DHT into WebRTC, Iroh or HyperDHT so two people can talk with no server in the middle and nothing left behind once they do.
Most of the demo is practical: wallets for Cashu, Lightning, Ark, Spark, Fedimint, on-chain and USDT sit inside the chat itself, so you can send sats to a contact the same way you'd send a message. He shows off proving identities (Nostr, PGP, SSH, a domain via a TXT record) without any server checking the proof for you, sharing a localhost web app with a contact, and the built in app store: chess, a Quake deathmatch, a shared Minecraft-style world and a cinema for watching films together. He also shows how he runs his own AI agents as contacts inside Ghostly itself, coordinating a "war room" of coding agents that patch and bug-hunt the project while he's away from his desk, and compares the project to Keet and White Noise. Max presses him on why anyone would move their group chats over from Signal or Telegram, and the main sticking point is syncing the same profile across devices, which Miguel's still working on.
We also get a tour of his other project, miguelmedeiros.dev, a drivable 3D island built with three.js that doubles as his portfolio: driving, flying or sailing between Mempool Plaza (live blocks from mempool.space), his GitHub Castle, Elektron Mining and a Lightning-powered boat ride, with 47 achievements and multiplayer built in. Links: Ghostly, Ghostly web app, Ghostly on GitHub, miguelmedeiros.dev, Miguel on X, Miguel on GitHub.
HELP GET SAMOURAI A PARDON
- SIGN THE PETITION ----> https://www.change.org/p/stand-up-for-freedom-pardon-the-innocent-coders-jailed-for-building-privacy-tools
- DONATE TO THE FAMILIES w/ USD ----> https://www.givesendgo.com/billandkeonne
- DONATE TO THE FAMILIES w/ BTC ----> https://pay.zaprite.com/pl_JpxtkLv95T
- SUPPORT ON SOCIAL MEDIA ---> https://billandkeonne.org/
TO DONATE TO ROMAN'S DEFENSE FUND: https://freeromanstorm.com/donate
VALUE FOR VALUE
Thanks for listening you Ungovernable lot, we appreciate your continued support and hope you enjoy the shows.
You can support this episode using your time, talent or treasure.
TIME:
- create fountain clips for the show
- create a meetup
- help boost the signal on social media
TALENT:
- create ungovernable misfit inspired art, animation or music
- design or implement some software that can make the podcast better
- use whatever talents you have to make a contribution to the show!
TREASURE:
- BOOST IT OR STREAM SATS on the Podcasting 2.0 apps @ https://podcastapps.com
- DONATE via Monero @ https://xmrchat.com/ungovernable
- BUY SOME STICKERS @ https://ungovernable.network/shop/
FOUNDATION
https://foundation.xyz/ungovernable
Foundation builds Bitcoin-centric tools that empower you to reclaim your digital sovereignty.
As a sovereign computing company, Foundation is the antithesis of today’s tech conglomerates. Returning to cypherpunk principles, they build open source technology that “can’t be evil”.
Thank you Foundation Devices for sponsoring the show!
Use code: Ungovernable for $10 off of your purchase
CAKE WALLET
https://cakewallet.com
Cake Wallet is an open-source, non-custodial wallet available on Android, iOS, macOS, and Linux.
Features:
- Built-in Exchange: Swap easily between Bitcoin and Monero.
- User-Friendly: Simple interface for all users.
Monero Users:
- Batch Transactions: Send multiple payments at once.
- Faster Syncing: Optimized syncing via specified restore heights
- Proxy Support: Enhance privacy with proxy node options.
Bitcoin Users:
- Coin Control: Manage your transactions effectively.
- Silent Payments: Static bitcoin addresses
- Batch Transactions: Streamline your payment process.
Thank you Cake Wallet for sponsoring the show!
MYNYMBOX
https://mynymbox.io
Your go-to for anonymous server hosting solutions, featuring: virtual private & dedicated servers, domain registration and DNS parking. We don't require any of your personal information, and you can purchase using Bitcoin, Lightning, Monero and many other cryptos.
Explore benefits such as No KYC, complete privacy & security, and human support.
(00:00:00) Welcome to Freedom Tech Friday
(00:02:53) Miguel Returns
(00:06:12) Ghostly Wasn't Supposed to Happen
(00:19:33) A Live Tour of Ghostly
(00:28:34) Minecraft, Chess and a Deathmatch
(00:31:07) Your AI Agents Live Here Too
(00:35:14) Scanning Into Ghostly at Plan B
(00:39:19) Keet, White Noise or Ghostly?
(00:51:07) Too Many Chats, Too Little Time
(00:53:46) A Drive Around Miguel's Island
(01:00:00) See You Next Friday!