The Kevin Rooke Show

Ben Price is the co-founder and CEO of The Bitcoin Company (TBC), an app that allows anyone to earn Bitcoin for all their shopping. In our conversation, we discussed how TBC’s app works, the challenge of disrupting credit card and loyalty point networks all over the world, the importance of the Lightning Network, and the work Ben is doing on OpenSats. → The Bitcoin Company: https://thebitcoincompany.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 02:23 - Ben Price Intro 06:45 - How VISA Payments Work 15:56 - Why Are Fiat Payments So Complicated? 18:38 - How The Bitcoin Company Works 29:08 - Why Merchants Like Credit Cards 39:00 - Disrupting Credit Cards and Airline Rewards 51:33 - Bitcoin Banks 1:01:19 - What Payments Will People Make on Lightning? 1:10:30 - What Is OpenSats? 1:17:13 - The Lightning Round

Albert Buu is the founder of NeutronPay, a company building a Lightning-powered API and mobile app for moving money around the world. In our conversation, we discussed NeutronPay’s product and vision for their API, why they’ve decided to initially focus on the Vietnam market, and the adoption and addressable opportunity for Lightning remittances. → NeutronPay: https://neutronpay.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 02:00 - Albert Buu Intro 08:53 - Albert’s Views on Payment Middlemen 14:38 - Custodial Lightning Products and Banks 23:12 - How NeutronPay Works 29:42 - Why NeutronPay Is Focused on Vietnam 36:57 - Payment Use Cases in Vietnam 41:49 - NeutronPay and Lightning Competitors 49:00 - El Salvador Remittance Adoption 59:30 - Constraints to Lightning Adoption in Southeast Asia 1:08:15 - The Lightning Round

Alex Busarov is the founder of Heatbit, a company building an electric heater that mines Bitcoin. In our conversation, we discussed how the Heatbit heater works, whether this home heating use case can introduce new people to Bitcoin mining, when Heatbit plans to integrate Lightning Network payouts, as well as the vision and roadmap for the company. → Heatbit: https://www.heatbit.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 02:11 - Alex Busarov Intro 06:41 - How Does Heatbit Work? 13:31 - Building a Miner vs. Building a Heater 18:16 - The Economics of a Heatbit Heater 24:42 - Why Heatbit Chose To Build Home Heaters 34:35 - Will Heatbit Integrate Lightning Network Payouts? 38:56 - Will All Heaters Be Powered By Bitcoin Miners? 50:12 - Heatbit’s Roadmap & Product Strategy 1:02:30 - The Lightning Round

Azz is the 16 year old founder of Valera, a company uniting hardware and software to bring Lightning payments to billions of people around the world. In our conversation, we discussed Indra, Valera’s Lightning node runtime for enabling near-zero cost Lightning nodes, we discussed the concept of connecting cold keys and wearable devices to your Lightning node, and we explored the idea of integrating hardware and software to build better products. → Valera: https://valera.co/ → Indra Tweetstorm: https://twitter.com/617a7a/status/1594696672973570048 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 02:15 - Azz Intro 09:09 - What Is A Lightning Node Runtime? 11:31 - How Indra Works 21:59 - What Might Indra Developers Build? 23:58 - Cold Keys on the Lightning Network 35:27 - Lowering the Cost of a Lightning Node by 10,000x 38:51 - Performance Trade-offs of Indra 46:03 - Will Indra Improve Lightning Network Reliability? 50:49 - Valera’s Vision 1:07:08 - Valera’s Focus on Hardware & Software 1:20:48 - The Lightning Round

Alex Adelman is the CEO & co-founder of Lolli, a Bitcoin-back rewards platform that has helped over 600,000 people stack sats while shopping. We had a wide-ranging conversation that covered Lolli’s aim to increase Bitcoin adoption, why Lolli has chosen not to integrate the Lightning Network yet, and why Alex believes smart contracts on Bitcoin are a big net positive for the ecosystem. → Lolli: https://lolli.com/share/GFQ8CiEhMc 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 02:27 - Alex Adelman Intro 10:41 - How Bitcoin Prices & Economic Downturns Affect Lolli 16:39 - How Do We Accelerate Bitcoin Adoption 28:14 - What Should Bitcoiners Be Focused On? 32:09 - Why Non-Fungible Assets are Important to Bitcoin 37:21 - Celebrity Investors & Bitcoin 45:32 - Why Lolli Isn’t on the Lightning Network Yet 52:02 - How To Make Lightning Simple 58:12 - Lolli’s Roadmap 1:01:17 - The Evolution of Cash Back Rewards 1:15:39 - Incentivized Advertising on the Internet 1:20:26 - The Lightning Round

Bastien Teinturier is the VP of Engineering at ACINQ, the team behind the Eclair Lightning implementation and the Phoenix mobile wallet. We spoke about collaboration and competition between Lightning implementations, the task of building Eclair and Phoenix, as well as a discussion about Lightning business models and Lightning adoption. → ACINQ: https://acinq.co/ 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 02:28 - Bastien Teinturier Intro 08:47 - Communication Between Bitcoin & Lightning Developers 12:29 - Why Has Lightning Payment Reliability Improved? 16:30 - Communication Between Lightning Implementations 27:48 - Why ACINQ Built Phoenix Wallet 33:38 - Upcoming Phoenix Wallet Features 43:25 - Lightning Features on ACINQ’s Roadmap 51:31 - Why ACINQ Chose VC Funding 1:07:02 - The Lightning Round

Austin Mitchell is the co-founder and CEO of Synota, a platform providing instant payments for energy generators, distributors, and consumers by leveraging Bitcoin’s Lightning Network. In our conversation we discussed the complexity of the energy value chain, the risks associated with the cash lags that energy companies are exposed to, and we discussed how Synota’s technology will reduce risks and lower costs across the energy industry. → Synota: https://www.synota.io/ 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 01:52 - Austin Mitchell Intro 06:24 - Energy Production & Consumption 14:06 - How Distributed is the Energy Industry? 32:14 - How Synota Will Improve the Energy Industry 38:32 - The Addressable Opportunity for Improved Energy Payments 50:16 - Synota’s Business Model 52:26 - Why is Synota Focusing on Bitcoin Miners? 1:02:48 - The Lightning Round

Julian Fahrer is the co-founder and CEO of Apollo, a platform for discovering and writing reviews of your favorite products, where quality reviews are rewarded with Bitcoin. In our conversation we grappled with the ideas that information should be free but time should not, we explored the issues with review platforms today, and we talked about how Lightning Network payments can help Apollo generate higher quality reviews. → Apollo: https://heyapollo.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 02:18 - Julian Fahrer Intro 08:26 - Should Information Be Free? 17:45 - Why Apollo Chose To Build a Reviews Platform 23:20 - Apollo’s Vision 31:12 - The Importance of Negative Feedback Loops 36:14 - What’s Wrong with Review Platforms Today? 41:05 - How Monetary Incentives Affect Reviews 48:50 - The Challenge of Getting a Product to Critical Mass 54:59 - Apollo’s Impact on Advertising 1:05:27 - The Lightning Round

Marco Argentieri is the co-founder of Fuji Money, a non-custodial platform for issuing Bitcoin-backed stablecoins and synthetic assets using the Lightning Network and Bitcoin’s Liquid sidechain. In our conversation we discussed how Fuji works, the concept of over-collateralized lending, and why Fuji is building on Lightning and Liquid. → Fuji Money: https://fuji.money/ 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 02:07 - Marco Argentieri Intro 06:36 - Why Fuji Is Building on Lightning & Liquid 13:56 - How Does Fuji Money Work? 19:06 - Why Do We Need Over-Collateralized Lending? 34:13 - Fuji Money’s Business Model 37:20 - How Fuji Interacts with the Lightning Network 41:28 - Fuji Roadmap 44:07 - Regulatory Issues with Issuing Stablecoins 49:17 - Ideas for Bitcoin Builders 52:32 - The Lightning Round

Sam Wouters is a Bitcoin Research Analyst at River, where he has recently put together an in-depth report on River’s Lightning Nodes. In our conversation we discussed Sam’s findings from studying the payments flowing through River’s node, River’s API service, and the future of payments on the Lightning Network. → River’s Lightning Report: https://river.com/learn/files/river-lightning-report.pdf 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 02:13 - Sam Wouters Intro 09:10 - Becoming a Better Bitcoin Educator 15:45 - Why River Published Their Lightning Report 29:53 - How Does River Decide Which Nodes To Connect To? 32:44 - How River & Chivo Are Working Together 38:28 - How Will River Make Money on the Lightning Network? 43:57 - Why Are So Many Lightning Nodes Running on Tor? 49:20 - How Important is Decentralization on Lightning? 1:04:25 - Making Large Payments on Lightning 1:17:41 - The Lightning Round