The Kevin Rooke Show

Dhruv Bansal is a physicist, entrepreneur, and the co-founder of Unchained Capital. In our conversation we explored the idea of scaling Bitcoin in layers, the importance of distributed markets on Bitcoin, Lightning, and beyond, and we touched Nostr, Tor, Ordinals and frameworks for understanding Bitcoin. → The Bitcoin Stack Presentation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qlV5_udJkC0 → Unchained Capital: https://unchained.com/ Sponsors → Voltage: https://stacksats.how/voltage → Stakwork: https://stacksats.how/stakwork This show is a Lightning podcast. That means instead of asking for likes or shares, I ask for sats. The best way to show your support is to download Fountain from the App Store, load your wallet with some sats, and send them over the Lightning Network to kerooke@fountain.fm. → Fountain: https://www.fountain.fm/ → More Episodes: https://www.stacksats.how/podcast → Lightning Address: ⚡kerooke@fountain.fm Links → Stack Sats: https://www.stacksats.how/ → Twitter: https://twitter.com/kerooke → Books: https://www.kevinrooke.com/book-recommendations → Bitcoin News: https://stacker.news/r/kr Timestamps 00:00 - Intro 02:20 - Dhruv Bansal Intro 08:41 - What Can Be Built on Bitcoin? 21:23 - Selling Bitcoin vs. Selling Altcoins 36:35 - The Importance of Building in Layers on Bitcoin 45:52 - How Important Is Decentralization on the Lightning Network? 58:22 - Second Order Effects of Lightning Network Changes 1:01:52 - Energy, Bitcoin, & P2P Connections 1:06:43 - The Pendulum of Centralization & Decentralization 1:13:23 - Can Lightning Fix Tor? 1:26:15 - The Role of Companies on Layered Protocol Systems 1:31:50 - Making Changes to Bitcoin 1:47:37 - The Lightning Round

Nicholas Gregory is the CEO of CommerceBlock, the company using Statechains to power their product Mercury Wallet. In our conversation, Nick explained the concept and utility of statechains, Mercury Wallet’s upcoming Lightning integration, and we also discussed LSPs and Bitcoin transaction fees. → Mercury Wallet: https://mercurywallet.com/ Sponsors → Voltage: https://stacksats.how/voltage → Stakwork: https://stacksats.how/stakwork This show is a Lightning podcast. That means instead of asking for likes or shares, I ask for sats. The best way to show your support is to download Fountain from the App Store, load your wallet with some sats, and send them over the Lightning Network to kerooke@fountain.fm. → Fountain: https://www.fountain.fm/ → More Episodes: https://www.stacksats.how/podcast → Lightning Address: ⚡kerooke@fountain.fm Links → Stack Sats: https://www.stacksats.how/ → Twitter: https://twitter.com/kerooke → Books: https://www.kevinrooke.com/book-recommendations → Bitcoin News: https://stacker.news/r/kr Timestamps 00:00 - Intro 02:18 - Nicholas Gregory Intro 04:25 - CommerceBlock 05:56 - What are Statechains? 17:18 - Building Mercury Wallet 23:51 - Changes to Bitcoin’s Protocol 34:58 - Trends in Bitcoin Transaction Fees 37:50 - Catalysts for Lightning Development 45:37 - Traits of Good Lightning Service Providers 54:58 - Attacking the Lightning Network 1:03:59 - The Lightning Round

Morgen Rochard is the founder of Origin Wealth Advisers, a CFA, CFP, and a well-known Bitcoin advocate. In our conversation, we spoke about the challenge of preserving one’s wealth on a fiat standard, the things Bitcoin does and does not fix, and regulations and tax implications of Bitcoin and Lightning Network payments. As always, the best way you can support this show is by sending in sats over the Lightning Network. You can use any podcasting 2.0 app, there are many of them, but my favorite is Fountain. → Origin: https://www.originwa.com/ Sponsors → Voltage: https://stacksats.how/voltage → Stakwork: https://stacksats.how/stakwork This show is a Lightning podcast. That means instead of asking for likes or shares, I ask for sats. The best way to show your support is to download Fountain from the App Store, load your wallet with some sats, and send them over the Lightning Network to kerooke@fountain.fm. → Fountain: https://www.fountain.fm/ → More Episodes: https://www.stacksats.how/podcast → Lightning Address: ⚡kerooke@fountain.fm Links → Stack Sats: https://www.stacksats.how/ → Twitter: https://twitter.com/kerooke → Books: https://www.kevinrooke.com/book-recommendations → Bitcoin News: https://stacker.news/r/kr Timestamps 00:00 - Intro 02:14 - Morgen Rochard Intro 13:10 - Personal Finance and Monetary Incentives 20:50 - Bitcoin Fixes This, But Not All Things 27:25 - Dealing with Bitcoin Volatility 40:51 - Getting Bitcoin Exposure 52:43 - Implications of Earning Bitcoin 59:29 - Capital Gains & Record Keeping 1:18:38 - The Lightning Round

Paul Sztorc is the Founder and CEO of Layer 2 Labs, as well as the author of BIP 300 and 301 and a Drivechain advocate. In our conversation, we explored Drivechain history, the pros and cons of sidechains on Bitcoin, and the work Paul is doing at Layer Two Labs to help scale Bitcoin. → Drivechain: https://www.drivechain.info/ → Layer Two Labs: https://layertwolabs.com/ Sponsors → Voltage: https://stacksats.how/voltage → Stakwork: https://stacksats.how/stakwork This show is a Lightning podcast. That means instead of asking for likes or shares, I ask for sats. The best way to show your support is to download Fountain from the App Store, load your wallet with some sats, and send them over the Lightning Network to kerooke@fountain.fm. → Fountain: https://www.fountain.fm/ → More Episodes: https://www.stacksats.how/podcast → Lightning Address: ⚡kerooke@fountain.fm Links → Stack Sats: https://www.stacksats.how/ → Twitter: https://twitter.com/kerooke → Books: https://www.kevinrooke.com/book-recommendations → Bitcoin News: https://stacker.news/r/kr Timestamps 00:00 - Intro 02:04 - Paul Sztorc Intro 16:25 - What Is Drivechain? 19:53 - Why Haven’t BIP 300/301 Been Implemented? 32:32 - Have Drivechain Opinions Changed Over Time? 41:54 - The Effects of Bitcoin’s Blocksize War 47:50 - What Benefits Could Bitcoin Get From Drivechain? 59:59 - What Are The Best Arguments Against Drivechain? 1:12:07 - Layer Two Labs 1:28:30 - Improving Bitcoin UX 1:53:05 - Sidechains and the Lightning Network 1:59:34 - The Lightning Round

John Carvalho is the CEO of Synonym, a company working on a number of Bitcoin and identity products and protocols including their Bitkit wallet, their Blocktank LSP, their Slashtags protocol, and their collaboration with Holepunch on Pear Credit. In our conversation we talked about the business case for building an LSP, the unique features of Bitkit, the vision for Pear Credit, and the identity landscape with overlapping protocols in Slashtags, TBD, and Nostr. → Synonym: https://synonym.to/ Sponsors → Voltage: https://stacksats.how/voltage → Stakwork: https://stacksats.how/stakwork This show is a Lightning podcast. That means instead of asking for likes or shares, I ask for sats. The best way to show your support is to download Fountain from the App Store, load your wallet with some sats, and send them over the Lightning Network to kerooke@fountain.fm. → Fountain: https://www.fountain.fm/ → More Episodes: https://www.stacksats.how/podcast → Lightning Address: ⚡kerooke@fountain.fm Links → Stack Sats: https://www.stacksats.how/ → Twitter: https://twitter.com/kerooke → Books: https://www.kevinrooke.com/book-recommendations → Bitcoin News: https://stacker.news/r/kr Timestamps 00:00 - Intro 02:47 - John Carvalho Intro 05:05 - Blocktank and the LSP Business 13:22 - Demand for Lightning Network Liquidity 32:52 - Regulations and the Lightning Network 41:24 - Removing IP Addresses from the Lightning Protocol 43:59 - How The BitKit Wallet Works 1:02:23 - The Vision for Pear Credit 1:16:01 - Tokens on the Internet 1:27:59 - How Slashtags Works 1:36:53 - Slashtags vs. TBD 1:46:04 - Can Multiple Web Identity Systems Succeed? 1:58:42 - The Lightning Round

Calle is a Lightning developer who has worked on a handful of Lightning projects, including Lightning Tip Bot, LNBits, and Cashu. In our conversation we talked about the Cambrian explosion of Lightning development happening lately, the importance of open source software, e-cash mints, and we did a deep-dive into the work Calle is doing on LNBits and Cashu today. → LNBits: https://lnbits.com/ → Cashu: https://cashu.space/ Sponsors → Voltage: https://stacksats.how/voltage → Stakwork: https://stacksats.how/stakwork This show is a Lightning podcast. That means instead of asking for likes or shares, I ask for sats. The best way to show your support is to download Fountain from the App Store, load your wallet with some sats, and send them over the Lightning Network to kerooke@fountain.fm. → Fountain: https://www.fountain.fm/ → More Episodes: https://www.stacksats.how/podcast → Lightning Address: ⚡kerooke@fountain.fm Links → Stack Sats: https://www.stacksats.how/ → Twitter: https://twitter.com/kerooke → Books: https://www.kevinrooke.com/book-recommendations → Bitcoin News: https://stacker.news/r/kr Timestamps 00:00 - Intro 02:16 - Calle Intro 06:05 - The Cambrian Explosion in Lightning Development 17:08 - Why Calle Loves Open Source Software 29:44 - Was The Internet Built Backwards? 39:20 - Jack Dorsey’s Nostr Donation 40:50 - Lightning Tip Bot 54:09 - How Does LNBits Work? 1:05:32 - What Is Cashu & What Are E-Cash Mints? 1:14:08 - Will Custodial LN Wallets Integrate Cashu? 1:19:43 - The Lightning Round

Evan Kaloudis is the founder of Zeus, an open-source and self-custodial mobile Lightning wallet. We talked about building Zeus and the new features it offers, the tension between custodial and self-custodial Lightning wallets, and the roadmap and business model for Zeus looking forward. → Zeus: https://zeusln.app/ Sponsors → Voltage: https://voltage.cloud?utm_source=kevinrooke&utm_medium=Youtube&utm_campaign=1mo → Stakwork: https://stakwork.com/ This show is a Lightning podcast. That means instead of asking for likes or shares, I ask for sats. The best way to show your support is to download Fountain from the App Store, load your wallet with some sats, and send them over the Lightning Network to kerooke@fountain.fm. → Fountain: https://www.fountain.fm/ → More Episodes: https://play.fountain.fm/show/P6XXuSPg6f2rj4ECB0fT → Lightning Address: ⚡kerooke@fountain.fm Links → Stack Sats: https://www.stacksats.how/ → Bitcoin News: https://stacker.news/r/kr → Twitter: https://twitter.com/kerooke → Books: https://www.kevinrooke.com/book-recommendations Timestamps 00:00 - Intro 02:17 - Evan Kaloudis Intro 06:43 - Evan’s Decision to Build Zeus 17:01 - What Is Missing from the Lightning Ecosystem? 23:59 - Custodial vs. Self-Custodial Lightning Payments 36:49 - Privacy on the Lightning Network 40:20 - Why Haven’t Regulators Targeted Lightning Companies? 42:04 - Taro and Zeus 46:09 - Zeus 0.7 Release 59:33 - Can Bitcoin Payments Fix Tor? 1:10:23 - Zeus’ Business Model 1:15:30 - The Lightning Round

Ben Carman is a Lightning privacy researcher, working on a handful of Lightning projects including Mutiny Wallet, The Bitcoin Company, and Vortex. We talked about the state of Lightning Network privacy, the challenge of improving one’s privacy, and the work Ben is doing to bring Lightning wallets directly to your browser with Mutiny. → Mutiny Wallet: https://mutinywallet.com/ → Lightning Privacy Research: https://lightningprivacy.com/ Sponsors → Voltage: https://voltage.cloud?utm_source=kevinrooke&utm_medium=Youtube&utm_campaign=1mo → Stakwork: https://stakwork.com/ This show is a Lightning podcast. That means instead of asking for likes or shares, I ask for sats. The best way to show your support is to download Fountain from the App Store, load your wallet with some sats, and send them over the Lightning Network to kerooke@fountain.fm. → Fountain: https://www.fountain.fm/ → More Episodes: https://play.fountain.fm/show/P6XXuSPg6f2rj4ECB0fT → Lightning Address: ⚡kerooke@fountain.fm Links → Stack Sats: https://www.stacksats.how/ → Bitcoin News: https://stacker.news/r/kr → Twitter: https://twitter.com/kerooke → Books: https://www.kevinrooke.com/book-recommendations Timestamps 00:00 - Intro 02:24 - Ben Carman Intro 04:45 - Why Ben Loves Open Source Software 07:17 - Bitcoin’s Privacy Arms Race 13:06 - The Cypherpunk Manifesto & Lightning 21:16 - Do People Understand The Importance of Privacy? 28:45 - Lightning Privacy Report 36:14 - How Channel CoinJoins Can Improve Privacy 43:58 - How Many People Use CoinJoins Today? 46:15 - Blinded Paths & Trampoline Routing 55:17 - Mutiny Wallet 1:02:38 - Why Builders Are Migrating To The Web 1:09:36 - The Lightning Round

Will Reeves is the CEO and co-founder of Fold, a platform that helps users earn Bitcoin rewards whenever they shop or use the Fold app. We talked about the challenge of building a resilient Bitcoin business in all kinds of market conditions, Fold’s strategy of giving away hundreds of Bitcoin to users, and the ways in which the Lightning Network needs to differentiate itself from other payment platforms. → Fold: https://use.foldapp.com/r/E7MPJRE4 Sponsors → Voltage: https://voltage.cloud?utm_source=kevinrooke&utm_medium=Youtube&utm_campaign=1mo → Stakwork: https://stakwork.com/ This show is a Lightning podcast. That means instead of asking for likes or shares, I ask for sats. The best way to show your support is to download Fountain from the App Store, load your wallet with some sats, and send them over the Lightning Network to kerooke@fountain.fm. → Fountain: https://www.fountain.fm/ → More Episodes: https://play.fountain.fm/show/P6XXuSPg6f2rj4ECB0fT → Lightning Address: ⚡kerooke@fountain.fm Links → Stack Sats: https://www.stacksats.how/ → Stacker News: https://stacker.news/r/kr → Twitter: https://twitter.com/kerooke → Books: https://www.kevinrooke.com/book-recommendations Timestamps 00:00 - Intro 02:22 - Will Reeves Intro 08:49 - Why Will Decided to Build Fold 11:59 - Building Through Bull and Bear Markets 25:28 - Fold’s Gamification Strategy 32:23 - How Much Bitcoin Should Fold Pay Users? 40:19 - Bitcoin Venture Capital 56:50 - The Importance of the Lightning Network 1:08:03 - Issues with Comparing the Lightning Network to Fiat Rails 1:18:06 - The Lightning Round

Caitlin Long is a Wall Street veteran, and the Founder and CEO of Custodia, a platform for digital asset banking, custody, and payments. We had a wide-ranging conversation examining how banks might interact with Bitcoin in the future, the importance of stablecoins, Lightning adoption, and much more. → Custodia: https://custodiabank.com/ Sponsors → Voltage: https://voltage.cloud?utm_source=kevinrooke&utm_medium=Youtube&utm_campaign=1mo → Stakwork: https://stakwork.com/ This show is a Lightning podcast. That means instead of asking for likes or shares, I ask for sats. The best way to show your support is to download Fountain from the App Store, load your wallet with some sats, and send them over the Lightning Network to kerooke@fountain.fm. → Fountain: https://www.fountain.fm/ → More Episodes: https://play.fountain.fm/show/P6XXuSPg6f2rj4ECB0fT → Lightning Address: ⚡kerooke@fountain.fm Links → Stack Sats: https://www.stacksats.how/ → Twitter: https://twitter.com/kerooke → Books: https://www.kevinrooke.com/book-recommendations → Blog: https://www.kevinrooke.com/blog Timestamps 00:00 - Intro 01:59 - Caitlin Long Intro 05:50 - How Wall Street’s Views on Bitcoin Have Evolved 13:54 - Hal Finney’s Vision for Bitcoin Banks 22:59 - Scaling Bitcoin in Layers 31:34 - Moving Bitcoin or Fiat on Lightning 44:28 - Improving Bitcoin and Fiat Infrastructure 49:28 - Banking Costs vs. Bitcoin Costs 59:32 - Can All Banks Benefit from Lightning Payments? 1:12:06 - The Lightning Round