S16 E17: Ben Arc on LNBits v1 & The State of Lightning Network

Apr 11, 2025

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Ben Arc is the creator of LNBits: a modular Lightning network wallet which, after 5 years of development, has just launched version 1. To celebrate this remarkable milestone, ”the CEO of Nostr” joins the show to talk about everything interesting in Bitcoin. Time stamps: 00:00:53 - Introducing Ben Arc 00:01:08 - Ben Arc and LNBits V1 00:02:23 - LNBits beta version and V1 release 00:02:36 - Amir Taaki's Post-Syria Experience 00:03:08 - Rojava and Anarcho-Syndicalism 00:04:08 - LNBits development timeline 00:05:16 - Early stages of LNBits and Lightning 00:05:33 - Disillusionment in Bitcoin Space 00:07:20 - Stepan Snigirev and Specter DIY 00:08:11 - Modularity and extensions in LNBits 00:08:38 - Nostr and Bitcoin's Future 00:09:04 - Bear Market and Bitcoin's Value 00:10:00 - LNBits API and extensions 00:11:10 - LNBits as a sandbox for innovation 00:11:24 - Trump, Memecoins, and Market Downturn 00:12:31 - LNBits V1 new features and improvements 00:13:18 - Desired Bitcoin Adoption 00:14:12 - Dogecoin and Market Desensitization 00:15:09 - Bitcoin's Correlation with Stocks 00:16:26 - Bitcoin's Utility and Bear Market 00:17:41 - LNBits Investment and Thunderfunder 00:19:12 - Bear Market Camaraderie and Future 00:20:29 - Bitcoin's Humble Beginnings 00:22:20 - Dan Kaminsky and Len Sassaman 00:23:38 - LNBits security and real-world testing 00:23:51 - Satoshi's Anonymity Strategy 00:25:35 - John Nash and Satoshi Candidates 00:28:00 - Building extensions and ease of use 00:29:32 - Nick Szabo's Coding Abilities 00:30:34 - 600 Billion Meme Origin 00:34:34 - Hardware Wallets from AliExpress 00:39:09 - State of Lightning and future outlook 00:39:33 - Ledger Leaks and Supply Chain Attacks 00:41:42 - Trezor Security and Multisig 00:44:35 - Fiatjaf and Nostr 00:46:46 - Liquid Network Utility 00:51:51 - Nostr and IoT applications 00:52:48 - Lightning Network and Cross-Chain Swaps 00:55:48 - Bitcoin as digital gold and speculation 00:57:05 - Blockstream, Sidechains, and Federations 00:58:22 - Ideal money and Bitcoin's role 01:00:03 - Luke Dash Jr and Bitcoin Knots 01:00:47 - Layer 2s 01:03:15 - ZK-rollups 01:07:40 - Competition and collaboration in Bitcoin 01:07:58 - SegWit2x and BIP Bureaucracy 01:10:57 - Ecash and Cashu's development 01:11:11 - OpenTimestamps and Simple Proof 01:16:13 - Future Bullish Narratives for Bitcoin 01:17:29 - Improving Lightning Network design 01:22:43 - LNBits journey and future vision 01:25:08 - Businesses giving up on Lightning 01:30:01 - Node solutions and Raspberry Pi 01:34:54 - Zapstream and value-for-value content 01:37:05 - LNBits in five years 01:42:17 - Getting started with LNBits V1 01:46:33 - LNBits shop and hardware projects 02:00:00 - Nostr signing device 02:02:03 - Public key cryptography's importance 02:03:40 - Supporting LNBits and Nostr 02:05:05 - Nostr identity provider services 02:08:53 - Nostr's independence from blockchains 02:11:53 - Melvin Carvalho and Bitcoin community 02:14:02 - Nostr's Bitcoin echo chamber 02:17:03 - Nostr client discussion 02:18:26 - Elon Musk and politics 02:21:33 - Anarchism and private capital 02:30:31 - Roger Ver and taxation 02:37:05 - Bitcoin block size debate 02:41:13 - Bitcoin as medium of exchange 02:54:30 - Turkish Lira and the blind drummer 02:57:03 - Lightning Network's early days 03:05:05 - Strike and other Lightning companies 03:12:23 - Digicash and online payments 03:13:47 - Online identity and privacy 03:18:34 - Coinjoining and fungibility 03:22:13 - Privacy coins and Zcash 03:29:12 - Nostr, disinformation, and Phil Zimmerman 03:44:04 - Nostr growth and adoption 03:47:22 - Nostr applications and user growth 04:00:41 - Nostr Identity Purchases 04:05:27 - Private Key Backup Methods 04:06:41 - Nostr Development and Features 04:09:13 - Mallorca Blockchain Days 04:10:02 - Early Bitcoin Development 04:11:54 - Bitcoin & Nostr Adoption in Japan 04:15:28 - Nostr Conference Experiences 04:16:08 - Upcoming Conference Attendance 04:18:44 - Paralelni Polis Closure 04:20:25 - Room 77 Closure 04:21:14 - Early Bitcoin Wallets 04:24:20 - Early Bitcoin Figures 04:26:03 - Nokia N900 & LG Prada 04:28:36 - Ethereum and LocalBitcoins Origins 04:29:05 - Decline of Bitcoin Meetups 04:30:41 - Michael Saylor's Hope.com 04:38:05 - Saifedean plagiarized Dominic Frisby 04:41:14 - Saylor's Economic Views 04:45:35 - Consumerism and Planned Obsolescence 04:51:36 - Global Power Shifts and China 04:57:11 - European Union CBDC 05:03:04 - Cypherpunk Dream and Cryptography 05:06:03 - Politicians Using AI 05:15:24 - Bitcoin's Future and Replacements 05:20:44 - Bitcoin and Altcoin Development 05:24:41 - Lightning Network Importance 05:28:03 - Quantum Computing and Hard Forks 05:34:46 - Bitcoin in Suriname 05:42:09 - Secret Word