S16 E54: Slava Zhygulin & Ros on Stroom Network, Bitcoin Staking

The Stroom Network presents an interesting proposition: staking your bitcoin on the Lightning network, and earning yield from the transaction fees that routing nodes are collecting. To better explain how this system works, Slava and Ros join the show! Time stamps: 00:01:17 - Introduction to Bitcoin Takeover Podcast Season 16 Episode 54 00:01:23 - Welcoming Slava Zhygulin and Ros from Stroom Network 00:01:52 - Overview of Stroom Network: Liquid staking on Lightning Network 00:02:38 - How Stroom works: Depositing BTC for yield via transaction routing 00:03:55 - Liquid token as receipt for deposited BTC 00:04:21 - Addressing Bitcoin purists' concerns about staking and yield 00:05:32 - Token issuance on Ethereum, redeemable 1:1 with BTC 00:06:37 - Custodian role: Fortuna Custody for secure setup 00:06:49 - User process: Staking BTC, receiving ST BTC token 00:09:06 - Stroom's Lightning node on 1ml.com: 180 BTC capacity, top rankings 00:10:06 - Background: Work with Lightning since 2016, ex-Bitfury team 00:11:15 - Lightning Network capacity: ~5,000 BTC total 00:12:18 - Bullish on Lightning: 4x payment volume growth per River Finance reports 00:14:33 - Lightning's infinite scalability vs. blockchains like Solana 00:16:20 - Node metrics: 127 BTC routed, 65,000 transactions in two months 00:18:00 - Yield source: Real economic activity from routing fees 00:19:06 - Unique BTC yield without proof-of-stake risks 00:19:48 - Comparison to other Bitcoin L2s like Citrea and Alpen Labs 00:22:57 - Custodian details: Fortuna, EU-compliant in Ireland 00:23:37 - Fee structure: 5-10% retained, rest to stakers (bootstrapped at 20%) 00:24:53 - Revenue share model based on routed volumes 00:25:43 - Timeline: Two years of development, challenges with Taproot channels 00:29:04 - Bitcoin covenants: Unlikely to eliminate custodians 00:30:36 - Competitors: Kraken (1% yield), Starkware (2%), Babylon 00:33:06 - Stroom's edge: Yield from real Lightning activity, no token incentives 00:35:24 - Node stats: 65,000 transactions, ~$15M volume 00:36:59 - Average fees: ~0.1%, varies by channel and size 00:38:15 - Profitability estimates: $7,000/month example calculation 00:41:35 - Block (Jack Dorsey's company): 10% APY on $10M node 00:43:32 - Node age impact: Older nodes like Alex Bosworth's attract more traffic 00:45:33 - Encouraging channels: Reliability and high liquidity 00:46:53 - Boosting Lightning adoption: Stablecoins via Taproot Assets, RGB, Lightspark 00:50:27 - Sponsors: Layer 2 Labs, Sideshift.ai, NoOnes.com, Bitcoin.com News 00:53:13 - Node connections: NiceHash, OKX, Kraken, Binance, Wallet of Satoshi 00:56:45 - Fee policy: Dynamic algorithms, 0.1-2 basis points 00:59:36 - Future if Lightning replaced: Bitcoin L2s, BTVM, crosschain swaps 01:00:07 - Long-term vision: Proof-of-stake L2s like Botanics, BTM operators 01:03:07 - Team: Nick Sterningard as advisor 01:03:54 - Challenges in Lightning businesses: LSPs like Phoenix, Breez 01:05:43 - Lightning quirks: Buggy experience, on-chain alternatives 01:08:07 - Personal Lightning nodes: Rings of fire, Tor issues 01:09:58 - Stablecoins vs. Bitcoin: Tether article in Bitcoin Magazine 01:11:28 - Dollar dominance: 85% global payments, slow shift to Bitcoin 01:13:14 - Adoption decline: Past merchants like Dell, Microsoft vs. today 01:15:43 - Yield transparency: Real activity vs. BlockFi/Celsius rehypothecation 01:17:36 - Decentralized future: Federation for BTC management 01:18:53 - Ultimate purpose: Support Bitcoin economy beyond holding 01:19:59 - Community: 10,000 followers, 8-person tech team, 50/50 retail/funds 01:22:17 - 10-year vision: Largest BTC liquidity management community 01:23:53 - Personal payments: Bitcoin/Lightning preferred, stablecoins common 01:25:31 - Magic wand: Faster Bitcoin blocks (1-minute intervals) 01:27:54 - Tokenizing BTC: WBTC on Ethereum (100k+ BTC) vs. Lightning 01:29:43 - Paths forward: Improve Bitcoin or bridge to other networks like drivechains 01:30:59 - Learn more: Stroom.net, Twitter, Telegram, Discord 01:32:51 - Closing thoughts: Bright Bitcoin future, open financial inclusion 01:36:07 - Thanks and sign-off