What if bitcoin development stopped tomorrow? with Mike Schmidt and Buck Perley

What if bitcoin development stopped tomorrow? In this episode, we sit down with Mike Schmidt, Executive Director at Brink, and Buck Perley, Director of Product Engineering at Unchained, to explore the state of open source development and why it matters more than ever. Mike shares his path from software engineer to funding bitcoin core developers, while Buck recounts his early bitcoin experiences in China. We cover what bitcoin core developers actually do, how brink evaluates contributors, and why maintenance, security, and review are essential—even without major protocol changes. The conversation also touches on ossification, governance, and the future of soft forks. If you’ve ever wondered who maintains bitcoin’s foundation and why it matters, this episode pulls back the curtain.

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TIMESTAMPS:

0:00 - Intro

1:14 - Why open source matters for bitcoin

6:20 - How Buck discovered bitcoin in China

11:12 - What bitcoin core developers actually do

16:57 - How brink evaluates developers before funding

22:15 - What brink would do with unlimited funding

27:34 - Why bitcoin needs more reviewers, not just coders

32:10 - Should bitcoin ossify or stay flexible?

36:36 - The messy politics of soft forks and consensus

42:18 - What is bitcoin governance really?

47:18 - Unpopular opinions from Mike and Buck

51:25 - The biggest long-term risk to bitcoin

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→ Buck Perley’s Twitter: https://x.com/puckberley