Bitcoin Magazine Podcast

BTC Media
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Mar 11, 2020 • 16min

Weekly Bits #18: The Art and Culture of Bitcoin

Building on Bitcoin Magazine's Art of Bitcoin issue, Colin and Peter discuss the grassroots history of the Bitcoin logo, the power of artistic propaganda to convert precoiners and how Bitcoin's art world reflects the technology itself. The Art of Bitcoin Issue
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Mar 9, 2020 • 1h 4min

Yassine Elmandjra on Whether Bitcoin Should Correlate

What is Bitcoin? This question is constantly posed to us at Bitcoin Magazine. The truth is that the answer varies depending on who you ask. With the recent economic shock from the global spread of COVID19, now feels like the right time to revisit it. In this episode, Dave Hollerith talks with Yassine Elmandjra, crypto analyst at Ark Invest about whether or not Bitcoin does and should correlate to the stock market and global economy more broadly. Yassine doesn't claim to know what Bitcoin is, but he has a firm grasp of the many things it can be in a realistic future, and more importantly, he has a lot of experience explaining its value to less familiar and more skeptical peers and institutions.  Topics: The downfall of breathing narratives into existence  Bitcoin bugs and the believers of digital gold Why noncorrelated assets are essential for mitigating risk How Bitcoin could potentially separate not just money from the state but also property and the state How Ark uses the Sovereign Individual thesis  Who is going to support Bitcoin's development The Cash App's connection to Square Crypto Underhyped v. overhyped Resources: Ark Newsletter Cash App beating Venmo Hunger Games: Libra Addition Twitter: Yassine Elmandjra (@YassineARK) Dave (@dshollers) Bitcoin Magazine Sponsors: Etoro DISCLAIMER: The following content is for informational purposes only. You should not construe any such information or other material as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice. Nothing contained in this presentation constitutes a solicitation, recommendation, endorsement, or offer by BTC Media, The Let’s Talk Bitcoin Network, or any third party service provider to buy or sell any securities or other financial instruments.
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Mar 2, 2020 • 51min

Brian Merchant on The Darknet's Fake Murder-For-Hire Marketplace

In this episode, Dave Hollerith interviews journalist and author, Brian Merchant, on a recent story he wrote about a darknet website that offers murder-for-hire services. Part hoax and part reality, Merchant's investigation into this scam marketplace led him into a world of white hat hackers, fake hitmen, murderous spouses and real-world victims. He explains that although this dark corner of the internet is essentially fake, it has drastically harmed the lives of innocent people and blurred the line between virtual anonymous markets and real-world life and death consequences. Topics: The origins of online assassination markets. How Chris Monterio hacked into the backend of a murder-for-hire scam website How the murder-for-hire scam had terrifying real-world implications on innocent people The frustratingly slow pace at which law enforcement investigated the issue How Bitcoin and cryptocurrency are implicated in these scams How future scenarios could play out for online assassination markets Resources: Click Here To Kill (Harper's Magazine) Chris Monterio’s blog (Pirate Dot London) Twitter: Brian Merchant (@bcmerchant) Dave (@dshollers) Bitcoin Magazine Sponsors: Etoro DISCLAIMER: The following content is for informational purposes only. You should not construe any such information or other material as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice. Nothing contained in this presentation constitutes a solicitation, recommendation, endorsement, or offer by BTC Media, The Let’s Talk Bitcoin Network, or any third party service provider to buy or sell any securities or other financial instruments.
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Feb 26, 2020 • 22min

Weekly Bits #17: The Stories of Bitcoin Revisited

From 2012 to 2014, Bitcoin Magazine produced 22 print issues covering the burgeoning technology, its budding culture and potential impact. This week, Colin and Peter revisit some of those stories with updates, reflections and new commentary. The Stories of Bitcoin Magazine Revisited: Where Mainstream Media Gets Bitcoin Wrong Despite Utility, Bitcoin Cannot Fix Venezuela Infographic: Compromised Bitcoin Exchange Events  
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Feb 24, 2020 • 53min

Bitcoin's Solvency and Security with Coinfloor’s Obi Nwosu & Blockstack's Muneeb Ali

In this episode, Dave Hollerith speaks with Coinfloor's Obi Nwosu and Blockstack's Muneeb Ali, two leaders who have run companies in the community since 2013.  Coinfloor is the U.k.'s largest cryptocurrency exchange while Blockstack is a developer platform and network trying to build a new internet. Though different in what types of product they offer, both companies are taking innovative and even perhaps opposing strategies for how they can and should successfully leverage Bitcoin. Obi Nwosu Interview: Proof of Reserves Why Coinfloor delisted Eth  Obi's take on why users have more power than exchanges. Why Coinfloor wants Bitcoin buying to be safe, easy and without b.s. Muneeb Ali Interview: How the stacks 2.0 will relate to Bitcoin Blockstack's milestone growth controversy The more private internet Blockstack is building  Blockstack is pretty much the real Pied Piper from the HBO series Silicon Valley Resources:  Coinfloor's No BS Approach to Bitcoin Buying Coinfloor's Monthly Proof of Reserves Proves Solvency Blockstack's Proof of Transfer
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Feb 19, 2020 • 25min

Weekly Bits #16: Powering Corporate Open-Source Development

As the world's most robust open-source digital ledger, Bitcoin has encouraged several corporations to fund the development of tools that can be accessed and leveraged by anyone. In this week's episode, Colin and Peter discuss this intersection of corporate self-interest and technical altruism. Resources: For Square Crypto, the Way to Bitcoin Mass Adoption Is Open Source Microsoft's ION Is an Open-Source Bet on Bitcoin Infographic: Who Has Funded Bitcoin Core Development?    
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Feb 17, 2020 • 50min

Paxful's Ray Youssef on How Bitcoin Unlocks Social Good

“I’ve come to believe charity depends on finding those people who can truly execute on the ground, those real-life angels. Bitcoin is one of the best things for these people because they can work with it. They are completely transparent, they don’t have to go through any of the financial hoops. Most of all, they can convert it to anything, anywhere. It’s beautiful.” —Ray Youssef, CEO of Paxful While speculation and "hodling" are store of value qualities mainly used for bitcoin in North America and Europe, it's also being used as a tool for unlocking the world's unrealized capital by serving the unbanked. Paxful is one company leading this charge by offering bitcoin as a medium of exchange for people in developing countries. In this episode, Dave Hollerith interviews the CEO of Paxful, Ray Youssef, about how his peer-to-peer exchange has enabled a new economy of currency exchange and payments all through the use of Bitcoin. Additionally, Dave asks Ray about his philosophy and experience in social good and how it directly ties into Paxful's initiative for building schools across the world. Interesting Topics: How Paxful enables Bitcoin as a medium of exchange Why Bitcoin's potential to bring real change is occurring in developing places like Africa and Central America How Paxful navigates both regulation and scams as a peer-to-peer exchange A growing commercial corridor for Bitcoin and iTunes gift cards between Africa and China A growing class of entrepreneurs who build businesses off of Paxful Paxful's #BuildingwithBitcoin philanthropy initiative Bitcoin 2020 Conference in SF Resources: Bitcoin and Gift Cards Are Fueling a Million Dollar Remittance Market In Africa (Bitcoin Magazine) Bitcoin Scam Defense (Paxful)  BuildwithBitcoin.org ZamZam Water Twitter: Ray Youssef (@raypaxful) Dave (@dshollers) Bitcoin Magazine  Sponsors: Etoro DISCLAIMER: The following content is for informational purposes only. You should not construe any such information or other material as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice. Nothing contained in this presentation constitutes a solicitation, recommendation, endorsement, or offer by BTC Media, The Let’s Talk Bitcoin Network, or any third party service provider to buy or sell any securities or other financial instruments.
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Feb 12, 2020 • 24min

Weekly Bits #15: Assessing Bitcoin As A Tool For Philanthropy

In this week's episode, Colin and Peter evaluate Bitcoin's history as a technology that enables charitable giving. They discuss its effectiveness in response to natural disasters, the Bitcoin community's self-interested benevolence and the blockchain's prowess for facilitating a better kind of philanthropy. Resources:  When Disaster Strikes Bitcoin Facilitates Organized Charity and Grassroots Giving The Potential and Reality of Bitcoin Charity Infographic - The Pineapple Fund's Unparalleled Impact Twitter: Colin Harper Peter Chawaga Bitcoin Magazine
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Feb 10, 2020 • 52min

Matt Odell on Educating Bitcoiners

“Everybody has a bias, the important thing is not to Grandstand about having no bias. We see this with internet privacy in general, the narrative is framed by saying, some criminals are using it so let’s make the privacy worse for 99% of users who are law-abiding. That's problematic because at some point it's going to fall into the wrong hands.” —Matt Odell Bitcoin is a tool for financial freedom, but not everyone who buys it understands that this means it also comes with more individual responsibility. In this episode, Dave Hollerith talks with Matt Odell, an active privacy advocate and educator in the Bitcoin Community, to discuss: Bitcoin 2020 Conference in SF The most effective ways to educate people about Bitcoin Bitcoin narratives from the mainstream media The problem with the Bitcoin payment app, PEI Why Tor was a major part of the blocksize debate Opsec and privacy tips (SIM swaps) What Matt thinks is overhyped V. underhyped Readings: Bitcoin Time Traveler (Reddit) Bitcoin Has Lost Steam... (NYT) Tales from the Crypt (Last Rabbit Hole Recap) Twitter: Matt (@matt_odell) Dave (@dshollers) Bitcoin Magazine  Sponsors: Etoro DISCLAIMER: The following content is for informational purposes only. You should not construe any such information or other material as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice. Nothing contained in this presentation constitutes a solicitation, recommendation, endorsement, or offer by BTC Media, The Let’s Talk Bitcoin Network, or any third party service provider to buy or sell any securities or other financial instruments.
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Feb 5, 2020 • 21min

Weekly Bits #14: Imagining The Bitcoin Citadel Future

Maybe you've seen the memes: Bitcoiners are fantasizing about fortresses fit for complete self-sufficiency and impregnable bag protection. But what really goes into the perfect personal Bitcoin citadel? And what does it mean to imagine a future in which Bitcoiners are siphoned off from the rest of society? Colin Harper joins the show to dig deeper into his Bitcoin Magazine cover story "The 7 Safest Havens for Establishing Your Bitcoin Citadel." Resources: The 7 Safest Havens for Establishing Your Bitcoin Citadel Twitter: Colin Harper Peter Chawaga Bitcoin Magazine

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