S16 E45: Shai Wyborski on Bitcoin, Kaspa & Proof of Work Research

Shai Wyborski is one of the three co-authors of the GHOSTDAG paper, and a man who takes pride in his independent thinking and divergent approach to research. As a PhD in quantum cryptography, he's got lots of knowledge to share. But by virtue of his involvement in Bitcoin and Kaspa, he's got stories to tell too. What does the future of Proof of Work look like? Let's find out! Time stamps: 00:01:09 - Welcoming Shai Wyborski 00:01:28 - Dig into GhostDAG; most interesting PoW scaling tech. 00:04:44 - Shai's BTC opinions over time 00:05:21 - How Shai spent BTC on "creativity fuel" (undisclosed). 00:06:31 - Disenchantment: Steam drops BTC (congestion/volatility); SegWit "tyranny" births BCH. 00:10:47 - Rejects SoV; BTC as "decentralized vault" for eternal data archiving. 00:15:44 - BTC probs: Low TPS; LN fails. 00:16:15 - Kaspa suite: Beyond TPS/confirmations. 00:16:59 - Tradeoff: High throughput → no audit; pruning for 10-30yr trust. 00:18:40 - GhostDAG multi-ledger: Parallel processing, flexible tx order. 00:19:45 - Miners: Partial info cuts selfish mining/MEV. 00:20:42 - Enables auctions/oracles (Elliot Mabe block-voting). 00:21:40 - Debunks PoW myths: BTC artifacts (congestion for fees). 00:22:15 - Kaspa: Paradigm shift proof; lessons from protocols. 00:23:24 - Flaw: Fast emission + fair launch = whale buyout. 00:23:49 - Fair ≠ community; coercion w/o social contract. 00:25:10 - Whales fund → control; monetary world nature. 00:27:46 - Balance: Incentives, explicit contracts. 00:30:31 - Mining phases: CPU/GPU/ASIC stages; ultra-ASIC decen lock. 00:32:22 - ASIC-friendly: Cheap/low-power scale. 00:32:47 - Emission: Heavy early; ASICs 80-90% pre-retail. 00:34:29 - Full supply lifetime; tail short?00:35:28 - BTC emission extend 2-4x for social good. 00:37:27 - Kaspa whales: 3 hold 6% ($100M), foundation collusion. 00:38:27 - Kaspa emission: 60% in 1.5yrs emulates BTC adjusted for fast adoption. 00:41:16 - Guitar jam & sponsors.SideShift.ai: KYC-free swaps. NoOnes.com: P2P global south, "lions" mission. Bitcoin.com News: global views. LayerTwo Labs: Drivechains, ETH/Zcash sides. 00:46:49 - Kaspa drivechain?; WBTC custody risks. 00:48:33 - Citrea: ZK-rollup BTC DeFi. 00:49:27 - Alts: Quai grant, Kadena parallels. 00:50:47 - Parallel sec dilution. 00:52:03 - Quai: Selfish mining fixes, Monero 28% vuln. 00:53:01 - Monero RandomX ASIC-hostility. 00:54:02 - PoW specialized non-wasteful. 01:00:00 - Myths: Scalable, non-congested, decentralization. 01:15:00 - Casino stifles ingenuity; hype vs depth (IOTA rush). 01:30:00 - Funding: Retail quick vs VC long (Mobileye 20yr $80B). 01:45:00 - Game theory: Mechanism design incentives. 02:00:00 - Kaspa risks: Whale control, docs issues. 07:00:00 - Music: Beatles Sgt. Pepper post-Pet Sounds. 07:15:00 - McCartney bass; prog Floyd/Crimson.07:30:00 - Pet Sounds "God Only Knows" acapella. 07:43:02 - Pop→exp; Helter Skelter metal. 07:45:36 - Metal thrash/extreme; stoner Pantheon I. 07:47:41 - HS Pantera/prog/funk.07:49:51 - Concerts: Aristocrats, AC/DC; Dylan regret. 07:52:39 - Misses: Jethro Tull/Motörhead; Bon Jovi meh. 07:55:16 - Grunge: Nirvana In Utero, Soundgarden. 07:58:11 - Smashing Pumpkins trilogy; Corgan drama. 08:00:00 - Timeless tees; Doors sloppy; Zep Moby Dick. 08:02:40 - Zappa Inca Roads/Stink-Foot. 08:07:19 - AI scans/drones; govt bans. 08:12:08 - Radical: Vault, SoV, ultra-ASIC. 08:14:02 - PoW scalable/non-wasteful.08:15:00 - Fair vs community; casino timing punish. 08:17:40 - Narratives over fundamentals; retail vs VC. 08:21:07 - Record 8h21m+; ramble praise. 08:21:50 - Q&A: Kaspa 10yr alive, adapt. 08:22:24 - Beatles Kaspa? Pruning no. 08:23:44 - Game theory mechanism design. 08:26:09 - Work: Consulting, patents, Tectonic quantum.08:29:23 - Quai edu grant, freelance. 08:31:17 - KAS +3% pump; past dumps. 08:31:58 - Quai minor pump; negative effects. 08:33:34 - First interview 0.15→0.5¢; 13 KAS dons. 08:34:21 - Jam: Theme rock, lag. 08:38:07 8h39m record! Sponsors recap. 08:40:00 - Next interview with Val Venis on Monero/WWF; banter.