

Bitcoin Takeover Podcast
Vlad Costea
On the Bitcoin Takeover podcast you're going to hear the builders and innovators who make the Bitcoin project valuable. It's thanks to their work that the BTC price goes up, and it's their efforts that convince large investors that Bitcoin is the future of money. Here you will find the projects and ideas that will radically improve Bitcoin in the future, presented by the creators and innovators themselves. Time to learn!
Episodes
Mentioned books

Oct 24, 2025 • 1h 48min
S16 E52: Paul Sztorc on Bitcoin's Culture Wars
While the Bitcoin Core v30 vs Knots debate went on, Paul Sztorc was hard at work building the Drivechains software. However, this doesn't meant that he doesn't have any opinions about the recent events and their greater significance.
Time stamps:
00:01:30 - Welcome to the Bitcoin Takeover Podcast and Paul's Second Appearance This Season
00:02:28 - Bitcoin Civil War: Core v30 vs Knots Debate
00:03:02 - Nick Szabo Joining the Debate and Ties to Samson Mow's Company
00:04:11 - Op Return Limit Silliness and Historical Bitcoin Uncensored Humor
00:05:21 - Shift in Bitcoin Community: From Subversive to Suit Coiner Route
00:06:02 - Resistance Money, Privacy, and Black/Gray Markets
00:09:18 - Rambling Due to Sickness/Jetlag and Software Demo Tease
00:09:29 - LayerTwo Labs Software Overview and Download Instructions
00:11:55 - Tweet on Turning Transactions into JPEGs
00:13:00 - Bit Window Software Explanation vs Bitcoin Knots
00:15:31 - Bit 300 Activator vs Bitcoin Core Pull Requests
00:17:25 - No More Soft Forks in Bitcoin and Activation Challenges
00:18:23 - CTV Almost Activated, Shift to Filter Debates
00:19:10 - Bitcoin's Potential Death from Complacency
00:19:36 - Derangements of Bitcoin Post and Lightning as Sacred Cow
00:20:02 - Tabconf Presentation on Lightning Network Issues
00:22:52 - Lightning Network Blackpill Article and Updates
00:24:40 - Lightning Cult and Misunderstandings
00:26:24 - Promoting Chaumian Ecash and Human Rights Foundation
00:27:03 - Funding R&D: Ecological Impacts and Bad Ideas
00:29:02 - Maginot Line Example: Funding Bad Defenses
00:30:16 - Drivechains Activation on Litecoin Progress
00:31:58 - Next Tests: Testnet 4 and Forknet Realism
00:32:58 - Litecoin Activation Process and Differences
00:34:49 - Dogecoin Merged Mining and Potential Activation
00:35:26 - Sky Doge as First Drivechain Chain
00:36:50 - Bit Window Advantages Over Knots
00:37:25 - Views on Mining Pools and Game Theory
00:40:05 - Critique of Luke Dash Jr.'s Ideas on Pools
00:41:05 - Transaction Relay Policies and Miner Incentives
00:41:47 - Emotional Manipulation in Debates
00:43:13 - Raising Funding and Different Approaches vs Luke
00:44:02 - Marketing: Funny Videos and Memes
00:45:05 - Luke Dash Jr.'s Character and Expertise
00:46:05 - Experts vs Elites in Bitcoin
00:48:08 - Testing LayerTwo Labs Software on OSes
00:48:38 - Windows/Linux Discussion and Preferences
00:59:30 - ZK Rollups and Data Availability on Bitcoin (Post-Truncation)
01:00:06 - Non-Miner L2s Have No Future
01:01:47 - Drivechain as Minimal, Optional Soft Fork
01:02:55 - Tom Cruise Party Analogy for Bitcoin Upgrades
01:03:08 - Derangements of Bitcoin Post Recommendation
01:03:50 - Viewer Comment: Layer 2s Bad, More Altcoins Needed
01:04:03 - Importance of Competition in Crypto
01:07:02 - Altcoins as Regression Due to Switching Costs
01:08:33 - Sponsor Plugs: LayerTwo Labs, SideShift, Bitcoin.com, NoOnes
01:09:07 - Questions: Why Zcash for Fungibility Sidechain? DAGs?
01:13:35 - Prediction Market L2 and Ambitious Design
01:14:24 - Truthcoin History and Inspiration for Others
01:16:34 - Robin Hanson as Prediction Market OG
01:17:23 - Zcash vs Monero: Code Forks and Privacy Comparison
01:21:30 - Privacy via Decoys vs Pools in Zcash/Monero
01:24:10 - Zcash Advantages for Sidechains
01:26:30 - Zcash Drawbacks Ideal for Sidechain Rollovers
01:27:42 - Zcash as Research Lab for Bitcoin/Ethereum
01:28:07 - R&D as Creative Endeavor Over Funding
01:30:19 - Zcash Launch Story and Roger Ver's Influence
01:31:08 - Truthcoin Parallels and Sidechain Intent
01:32:03 - Maximalist Sacrifices for Bitcoin
01:32:31 - Blockstream's Failure and Altcoin Rise
01:34:29 - Thoughts on DAGs (e.g., Kaspa, Quai)
01:36:20 - SPV Importance and Satoshi's Vision
01:39:05 - SPV Balances Security and Convenience
01:39:59 - DAGs Not Solving Key Scaling Problems
01:42:42 - Shitcoin Definition: Outdated Dichotomy
01:43:53 - Optimism for Bitcoin's Future Choice
01:45:32 - One Coin to Rule Them All Analogy
01:45:38 - Thanks, Wrap-Up, and Jay Berg Recommendation
01:46:54 - Future Live Demo Tease
01:47:16 - Join Drivechain Insiders Telegram Group
01:48:41 - Closing and Thanks

Oct 18, 2025 • 3h 40min
S16 E51: Sean Bowe on Bitcoin, Zcash & Scaling Privacy with Tachyon
Sean Bowe is a cryptographer and engineer who is best known for revolutionizing Zcash. After cooperating to fix the inflation bug in the first version of the network, he built Halo to remove the trusted setup – basically obliterating the main reason why Bitcoin did not activate the Zerocash soft fork in 2013.
More recently, Sean Bowe announced project Tachyon: an ambitious initiative to scale ZK SNARKs (the technology enabling shielded transactions) to billions of users.
Time stamps:
00:01:19 - Sean Bowe's Work on Zcash and Hidden Inflation Bug Fix
00:01:36 - Introduction to Halo and Halo 2: Eliminating Trusted Setup
00:01:51 - Overview of Project Tachyon for Scaling ZK-SNARKs
00:02:43 - Zcash Price Pump and Dance Celebration
00:04:48 - Using Zcash for Encrypted Messages via Zashi Wallet
00:05:42 - Comparing Zcash Messaging to Signal
00:07:17 - Sean Bowe's Early Involvement in Zcash and Bitcoin
00:10:34 - Sean Bowe's Age and Start in Cryptography at 21
00:11:13 - Discovering Bitcoin in 2011 and Privacy Needs
00:13:42 - Contributing to BIP 39 with Slush and Trezor
00:14:19 - Realizing Bitcoin's Lack of Privacy
00:17:50 - Privacy vs. Deniability in Bitcoin and Banks
00:20:23 - Wasabi Wallet and CoinJoins Limitations
00:21:46 - Optional Privacy in Zcash and Wallet Defaults
00:23:16 - Viewer Question: Source of Sean Bowe's Smartness
00:24:47 - Viewer Question: Ideas from Scaling Bottlenecks
00:27:09 - Viewer Quote from Oscar Wilde on Privacy
00:28:07 - Viewer Question: Zcash Network State Meaning
00:30:00 - Viewer Question: Timeline for Tachyon Success
00:33:15 - Chronological Approach to Interview and Tachyon
00:37:33 - Differences Between Zerocoin (Firo) and Zerocash (Zcash)
00:39:55 - Greg Maxwell's CoinJoin and Zerocoin Views
00:42:57 - Moon Math and Cryptographic Assumptions
00:46:33 - Sponsor: Citrea ZK Rollup with BitVM
00:47:19 - Sponsor: Layer2 Labs ZSide Drive Chain
00:49:01 - Sponsor: Bitcoin.com News
00:50:16 - Zcash Leads Crypto Rally News
00:58:49 - Bitcoin's Constraints and Creativity like BitVM
01:05:00 - Zcash Contributors and Zebra Rust Node
01:14:00 - Friendly Forks in Zcash
01:31:00 - Monero Hater Comments and Zcash Anonymity
02:23:00 - Superhero Backstory Tease
02:26:14 - Bitcoin Talk Username and Early ASIC Mining
02:28:35 - Pessimism on Bitcoin Development Speed
02:50:41 - Shielded Zcash Dust Problem
02:52:11 - Quantum Resistance and Self-Transfers
02:53:00 - Long-Term Storage Pool for Quantum Safety
02:54:56 - Avalanche Pre-Consensus like eCash
02:55:04 - Tachyon and Oblivious Synchronization
02:58:56 - Scaling to Billions: Math and No Bottlenecks
03:02:12 - Solving Privacy-Scaling Trilemma
03:04:51 - Off-Chain Secrets and Payment Protocols
03:06:24 - Tachyon as New Privacy Pool
03:12:56 - Wallet Syncing with Tachyon Servers
03:14:50 - Shielded Aggregation in Tachyon
03:17:00 - Tachyon Team Size and Hiring Rust Engineers
03:18:41 - ETA for Tachyon: Next Year
03:23:15 - Greg Maxwell Paper Citation Story
03:25:11 - Explaining ZK-SNARKs to Polkadot Cryptographers
03:31:01 - Zcash Governance and No Benevolent Dictator
03:35:06 - Memos Bloating Blockchain and Anonymity Boost
03:38:06 - Zcash Compatibility with Bitcoin Privacy
03:39:01 - Following Sean Bowe: X Account and Blog

Oct 13, 2025 • 1h 46min
S16 E50: Ray Youssef on Why Paxful's Terminated
On October 1st 2025, Paxful announced the decision to "wind down operations" and blamed the "misconduct" of co-founder Ray Youssef for the company's trajectory. But Ray Youssef had already moved on since 2023, building NoOnes as a non-US entity which better serves the peer to peer needs of the Global South.
In this episode, Ray explains what's going on and what he's planning to do next.
Time stamps:
00:01:08 - Introducing Ray Youssef
00:01:15 - Discussion on Paxful Termination and NoOnes as a Better Alternative
00:01:29 - Ray Youssef Accused of Undermining Paxful
00:02:54 - Paxful Press Release on Winding Down Operations
00:03:31 - Ray Youssef's Response and Exit from Paxful
00:03:46 - Warnings About Paxful's 3,000 Bitcoin in Cold Storage
00:04:29 - American Regulations Impacting Paxful
00:05:15 - New Indian Team at Paxful
00:05:27 - BitGo as Former Custodian for Paxful
00:05:53 - Dormant Tax Introduced by Paxful (Taxful Pun)
00:08:36 - Ray Youssef's Beard and Hair Discussion
00:09:23 - Expulsion from Bitcoin Church and Fatwa by High Priests
00:10:07 - Bitcoin as Financial and Monetary System
00:10:44 - NoOnes Replacing Financial Pillar for Global South
00:10:49 - Economic Apartheid Concept
00:11:15 - Ray Youssef Homeless When Starting Paxful
00:11:20 - Ex-Co-Founder (Artur Schaback Implied) as Business Partner Warning
00:11:50 - Executive Team Letters Against Ex-Co-Founder
00:12:03 - Attempt to Shut Down Paxful and Handle 3,000 Bitcoin
00:12:47 - Lawsuit by Ex-Co-Founder on Martin Luther King Day
00:13:03 - Accusations and Projections by Ex-Co-Founder
00:13:27 - Fintech Company Without Engineers During Lawsuit
00:14:23 - Ex-Co-Founder Incompetent as CPO
00:15:05 - $1.6 Million from Ray Youssef to Unfreeze Funds
00:15:29 - Delaware Law Firm Handling Paxful
00:15:35 - New Indian CEO Removing Paxful from LinkedIn Bio
00:16:00 - Ray Narrative on BitcoinMagazine.com
00:16:17 - Ex-Co-Founder Raiding Estonian Office
00:18:32 - Kate Grazic Back for NoOnes Partner Program
00:18:57 - LocalBitcoins Traders at NoOnes
00:19:03 - Paxful Family Reunited at NoOnes
00:19:27 - NoOnes Structure Outside the West
00:21:07 - 3,000 Bitcoin Worth $360 Million
00:24:56 - Own Account Bitcoin Disappeared from Paxful
00:24:59 - Solana Contract Issue in January
00:25:04 - Nick Carter Calling Ray Youssef a Clown
00:25:11 - Ari David Paul Accusing Scamming with NoOnes
00:25:24 - Support for Gaza and Palestine
00:25:30 - Nick Carter and Ari David Paul as Zionists
00:26:19 - Hack During Hajj in Medina
00:27:34 - Solana Bug Leading to Hack
00:28:09 - Ray Youssef Driving a Mini Cooper
00:30:42 - Muy from Ghana as Top Advocate at NoOnes
00:33:07 - Victor Schauberger's Work on Water
00:35:43 - WeChat of the Global South (NoOnes Vision)
00:36:27 - Silk Road Comparison (Clean Version)
00:37:28 - CivKit Project
00:37:34 - Nicholas Gregory (CivKit Collaborator)
00:37:41 - Commerce Block
00:38:29 - DarkFi Project
00:38:34 - Amir Taaki (Narodism) as Original Bitcoin Developer
00:42:38 - Roger Ver Attacked by Trolls
00:44:21 - Michael Saylor Meeting
00:45:58 - Adam Back as Skinny Twerp
00:59:18 - Tokenization Experiments by Ray Youssef
01:04:09 - Shelby Cobra 3D-Printed Car Project
01:04:34 - Water Bottle Structuring Water (Victor Schauberger Inspired)
01:06:17 - Malcolm X, Muammar Gaddafi, African Heroes on Wall
01:18:06 - Bitcoin.com News
01:18:43 - Roger Ver Quoted
01:20:06 - Roger Ver as Hero
01:21:03 - Bitcoin Cash
01:23:00 - Lunar the Silver Star (Sega CD Game)
01:23:14 - Garsh Hellcream (Warcraft Reference)
01:24:37 - XMR Bazaar (Monero Marketplace)
01:25:32 - Layer 2 Labs (Drivechains)
01:26:05 - Zcash Sidechain
01:26:12 - Thunder (Big Block Bitcoin Sidechain)
01:27:25 - Citrea (ZK Rollup for Bitcoin)
01:32:57 - Litecoin and MWEB (Mimblewimble Extension Block)
01:33:10 - Bitcoin Cash
01:33:17 - Monero
01:34:12 - Age of Empires (Priest Rush Invented by Ray Youssef)
01:35:52 - Sandy Peterson (Age of Empires Designer)
01:36:06 - USA Stablecoin Act
01:37:02 - Monerotopia Event
01:37:39 - Vitalik Buterin (In Photo)
01:40:17 - Val Venis (WWE Wrestler)
01:41:10 - Taxes Abolished in New World
01:45:15 - Sideshift (Swap Platform)

Oct 10, 2025 • 4h 15min
S16 E49: Jay Berg on Bitcoin, SidePit & Maximalism
Jay Berg joined Bitcoin in 2010 and became the first person to tweet about BTCUSD when the price hit a new high of $12. In this episode, he talks about why most Bitcoiners are wrong in their recent filter debate and how SidePit aims to fix trading.
Time stamps:
00:01:57 - Hot take: Maxis wrong, shitcoining new Bitcoining
00:03:00 - Bitcoin kernel: Litecoin, Ethereum, Zcash, Lightning, Liquid
00:03:23 - Bitcoin failed as P2P cash
00:04:09 - Filters vs. OP_RETURN debate
00:05:18 - Luke Dash Jr. fork prediction
00:05:45 - Original sin: No OP_CTV (BIP 119)
00:06:47 - 2017 civil war: Gavin Andresen, Mike Hearn
00:07:45 - Craig Wright conspiracy
00:08:42 - Wright intro: Bitcoin Belle, Gavin signing (2015)
00:09:32 - Debate with Nick Szabo
00:10:02 - Szabo denies Satoshi; Hal Finney, John Nash possibles
00:11:05 - Civil war apology
00:12:08 - Shitcoiner as new maxi
00:12:42 - Code over 21M meme
00:13:58 - Jay's background: Bloomberg, EURUSD
00:14:49 - 1998 digital cash, double spend
00:15:39 - Fortress HFT
00:17:03 - Bitcoin discovery (2009)
00:18:36 - BTCUSD tweets: Newberg Consulting
00:20:00 - 2010-2014 decentralized era
00:21:10 - Roger Ver adoption (2011)
00:21:30 - BitMEX on 2010 data debates
00:22:01 - OP_RETURN war: Counterparty, Omni
00:22:34 - Ethereum rise
00:23:13 - CP FUD on chain
00:23:36 - Cognitive dissonance
00:24:30 - Ethereum wars: Jimmy Song, Samson Mow
00:25:01 - Ethereum scales Bitcoin tweet
00:27:11 - Plebs control post-2017
00:28:05 - 21M changeable
00:29:06 - BIP 42: Pieter Wuille
00:30:23 - Security budget FUD
00:30:57 - Ethereum VM anti-pattern
00:32:25 - Rock-paper-scissors example
00:35:03 - MEV in DeFi
00:38:12 - Ethereum scales post-war
00:38:45 - Roger Ver buy Core attempt
00:38:52 - Luke Jr. block increase
00:39:38 - OP_CTV from no two-way peg
00:40:05 - Blocked by Adam Back
00:41:36 - Full RBF issue
00:42:10 - Sponsor: Layer2 Labs, Paul Sztorc, Drivechain (BIP 300)
00:42:35 - Sidechains: Thunder, Zside, BitAsset, EthSide
00:43:45 - Litecoin BIP 300 test
00:44:26 - Lightning not Bitcoin
00:45:44 - Sponsor: Citrea ZK rollup
00:46:02 - DeFi, Tornado Cash on Bitcoin
00:47:29 - OP_RETURN bytes need
00:50:02 - Lightning custodians
00:50:58 - Lightning as Bitcoin how?
03:26:01 - Zcash soft fork (2013)
03:26:42 - Trump Ethereum: World Liberty
03:27:50 - BIP 300, OP_CTV excitement
03:28:38 - Stubborn fork potential
03:28:49 - Stamp JPEG issue
03:29:11 - Luke Jr. denial
03:30:28 - No real JPEGs
03:32:24 - Gloria Zhao attack
03:32:54 - Matthew Kratter channel
03:33:21 - Mechanic handler theory
03:34:38 - Luke lost Bitcoin
03:35:48 - Richard Heart Hex debate
03:37:20 - Maxi used ETH
03:37:51 - Gresham's law
03:38:56 - Jason Lowery defense
03:40:31 - Naka, David Bailey
03:41:34 - Maxi cycle
03:42:23 - Cult elements
03:42:52 - Hypocrisy: Dogecoin, Litecoin
03:43:30 - Freedom Index: Monero, Zcash, Pirate, Zano, Nym
03:45:43 - Nym mixnet
03:46:44 - Zano tokens, FUSD
03:48:23 - Roger Ver Zano
03:49:40 - Saberhagen Cryptonote
03:51:55 - Alpha vs beta
03:55:10 - Ethereum leveraged BTC
03:56:21 - Opportunity
03:58:21 - Dorsey funding
03:58:51 - Renaissance or burn
03:59:30 - Number up vs fundamentals
04:00:28 - Success/failure
04:02:17 - Laszlo Pizza fear
04:03:00 - Swaps
04:03:24 - Lightning failure
04:04:30 - Platforms differences
04:05:56 - Shitcoiners new
04:07:20 - No blockchain solve?
04:08:49 - 2010-14 decentralized
04:09:40 - Mt. Gox exchanges
04:10:59 - SidePit swaps
04:11:18 - Follow: sidpit.com, JAYBNY
04:11:51 - Launch Q404:15:01 - Next: Sean Bowe Tachyon
04:15:13 - Sponsors: SideShift, Citrea, LayerTwo Labs, Bitcoin dot com News, Noones

Oct 7, 2025 • 2h 47min
S16 E48: Christopher Smith on Quantus, Bitcoin & Quantum Resistance
Christopher Smith (aka Yuvi Lightman, aka Ganesha 1024) is the founder of the Quantus network: an mbitious quantum-zk blockchain which he proudly built with his team in just 6 months, with a budget of $500k.
In this episode we talk about the threat of quantum computing, how quantum resistant cryptography works, and how Bitcoin can be saved from a potential disaster.
Time stamps:
00:01:31 - Introducing Christopher Smith (Yuvi Lightman), known on Soundcloud Music as Ganesha1024
00:02:22 - Quantis: Zero-Knowledge Quantum-Resistant Blockchain
00:02:39 - Christopher's Background, Early Bitcoin Involvement
00:03:41 - Current Views on Bitcoin, All-Time High at $125K
00:04:19 - Discovering Bitcoin in 2012, Contributions to BitcoinJ
00:04:36 - Founding BitMesh: Micropayments via Payment Channels
00:04:42 - Mike Hearn and Payment Channels
00:05:17 - Bitcoin Whitepaper Praise, Satoshi's Genius
00:05:55 - Essence of Money, Overcomplication Critique
00:06:49 - Bitcoin's Corporate Takeover, Cultural Ethos
00:08:38 - SegWit Changes, Big Block Debate
00:09:45 - Bitcoin Cash Sympathy, Shift to Ethereum
00:10:41 - Vitalik Buterin and Gavin Wood as Geniuses
00:10:53 - Lunar Startup: Blockchain Wikipedia with ICO
00:11:08 - Bitcoin Threats: Throughput, Privacy, Quantum Security
00:11:29 - Child Porn Blackmail Tactics in Debates
00:12:18 - Social Bottlenecks in Coordination
00:13:09 - BTC Token vs Network Separation via ETFs
00:14:06 - Proof of Keys Day by Trace Mayer
00:15:23 - No Trusted Third Parties Philosophy
00:16:04 - Cryptography as Military Tech
00:18:04 - Open Source Importance, ERC20 Simplicity
00:19:21 - BlackRock as Central Bank, Cult of Saturn Symbolism
00:20:17 - Bitcoin Threats: Throughput with Shai Reference
00:22:50 - Privacy and Zcash Praise
00:23:32 - Quantus as Bitcoin Fork with Falcon Signatures
00:24:50 - Solana as Big Blocker Inheritor
00:25:04 - Overton Window Constraints
00:26:41 - Quantus Timelines Skepticism, PsiQuantum Investment
00:28:14 - Ethereum Proof of Stake, Stablecoin Control
00:29:27 - Catholic Church Analogy, Satoshi's Time-Buying Quote
00:30:04 - Weaponized Schizophrenia Concept
00:31:09 - Schizophrenia as Catch-All, LSD Benefits
00:32:21 - False Positives/Negatives in Machine Learning
00:33:34 - Arbitrary Thresholds in Science/Medicine/Physics
00:34:46 - Autistic Definitions, Bitcoin Redefinition
00:36:25 - Douglas Hofstadter's Godel Escher Bach Inspiration
00:37:32 - Ads: Bitcoin.com News
00:38:39 - Citrea: ZK Rollup on Bitcoin
00:40:21 - BIP300 Drivechains by Paul Sztorc
00:41:53 - Hacker Ethos, L2 Complexity Critique
00:43:27 - Lightning Network Failures
00:44:22 - Open Source vs Closed Source Thought Experiment
00:47:00 - Check Phrase for Security
01:00:00 - Quantum Mechanics Wave Function Collapse
02:02:17 - Chris Doesn't Sound Like Typical Founder
02:02:50 - Quantus Features: Reversible Transactions
02:05:23 - Check Phrase Innovation
02:07:29 - HD Wallets for Lattice Cryptography, QIPs
02:08:46 - Pro-Social to Industry, Ethereum Ethos
02:09:00 - Ross Ulbricht on Blockchain Decentralization
02:10:00 - Bitcoin Maximalism Critique
02:10:34 - Satoshi on ZK Proofs Efficiency
02:11:01 - Grin Fair Launch, Kaspa DAG Innovation
02:12:16 - Zcash Innovations, ZK Snarks
02:13:25 - Libraries from Zcash, Fluffy Pony Dismissal
02:14:07 - Zcash Made ZK Practical
02:15:36 - Ethereum Net Positive Despite Mess
02:16:04 - Stablecoins as Freezable CBDCs
02:18:19 - Eye-Openers: Iran Banking Struggles, Argentina Tether Use
02:20:40 - COVID Psychology Lessons
02:22:27 - QE Money Printing Realization
02:23:33 - Legal vs Moral, COVID Non-Compliance
02:25:13 - Forgetting COVID Coercion
02:26:36 - Psychedelic Community Enforcement
02:27:47 - Nature's Cruelty
02:28:55 - Vaccine Divisions
02:30:02 - Each Vaccine Unique, Pavlov's Association
02:31:03 - Freedom License Concept
02:32:01 - Agency and Responsibility
02:34:05 - Frustrated Developers, Utility Missed
02:35:07 - User Adoption Challenges
02:36:01 - Funnel for Adoption, Co-Founder Complement
02:37:38 - Check Phrase for Wallets
02:39:04 - Plato on Politics
02:39:46 - Habeas Corpus History
02:40:40 - Optimism: Sunlight, World Complexity
02:41:36 - Manifesting Intentions
02:42:28 - Soundcloud Recommendation, Quantus Docs
02:43:02 - Music Like Pink Floyd's Great Gig in the Sky
02:44:47 - Amir Taaki 7-Hour Record
02:45:43 - Zooko's 6-Hour Interview
02:46:47 - WeaponizedSchizophrenia.com Blog
02:47:00 - Closing Words

Oct 2, 2025 • 4h 3min
S16 E47: Max Hillebrand on White Noise & Private Messaging on Nostr
Max Hillebrand makes his 8th appearance on the Bitcoin Takeover Podcast in order to talk about his latest project: White Noise, a private messaging application for Nostr. We also talk about Core v30 vs Knots, Bitcoin layer 2s & other bull market topics.
Time stamps:
00:01:07 - Max Hillebrand's Background
00:02:47 - Post-Wasabi Wallet Era and Privacy Challenges
00:04:28 - Nostr Protocol Overview
00:05:58 - Early Nostr Experiences and Key Loss
00:08:51 - Nostr Client Progress and Edge Cases
00:09:58 - Nostr's Relation to Bitcoin
00:13:53 - Hardware Wallets for Nostr Keys
00:18:06 - Nostr Key Backups and Security
00:21:53 - Nostr Search and Web of Trust
00:24:21 - Ads: Bitcoin.com News and NoOnes.com
00:26:12 - White Noise Protocol Introduction
00:27:52 - NIP 44 and Gift Wraps for Encryption
00:30:20 - Signal Protocol and MLS Evolution
00:32:16 - MLS Protocol Details
00:33:23 - Nostr Privacy Limitations
00:35:17 - Trusted Relays and Metadata
00:37:25 - Nostr as Data Delivery Layer
00:38:41 - Self-Authentication in MLS
00:40:02 - Group Creation and Key Packages
00:42:38 - MLS vs. Major League Soccer Joke
00:42:53 - Diffie-Hellman and Scaling to Millions
00:44:24 - MLS Key Tree Structure
00:46:59 - Scalability Benefits of MLS
01:18:00 - Marmot and Nostr Tools
01:25:30 - The Zcash Pump Dance
03:09:25 - Angor Protocol for Recurring Payments
03:14:02 - Bitcoin Script and Smart Contracts
03:15:32 - Great Script Restoration Proposal
03:21:03 - Builder Spirit in Bitcoin vs. Ethereum
03:25:19 - Bills of Exchange and Peer-to-Peer Credit
03:33:09 - Historical Finance and Farming
03:38:35 - Starting Bitcoin Meetups
03:41:43 - Localizing Bitcoin Content
03:44:17 - Recommended Podcasts
03:47:48 - Podcast Benefits and Guest Interactions
03:54:39 - Audience Quality and Impact
03:55:36 - White Noise Future and Building Freedom Tech
03:58:51 - AI Coding and Proof of Concepts
04:00:38 - Nym Mixnet Integration
04:01:54 - Closing Remarks and Future Sessions

Sep 30, 2025 • 4h 33min
S16 E46: Val Venis on Bitcoin, Liberty & Wrestling
Back in 2013, former WWE Intercontinental Champion Val Venis bought 24 bitcoins for $80 each. Today, he is a big advocate for freedom, privacy, and the right to benefit from the product of your own labor without extortion.
In this episode, we talk about libertarianism, his love for private internet money, and his WWE stories.
Time stamps:
00:00:00 - Intro: Val Venis Entrance & Attitude Era Reflections
00:01:51 - Hello Biological Ladies: Modern PC Culture & Twitter Feuds
00:02:46 - Wrestling Eras: From Attitude to Ruthless Aggression & PG Shift
00:03:30 - Political Outspokenness: Why No Hall of Fame Yet?
00:04:35 - Importance of Politics: Social & Financial Impacts on Society
00:05:13 - Val Venis Character: Porn Star Gimmick Ahead of Its Time
00:05:36 - Right to Censor Storyline: Mocking the PTC & Censorship Trends
00:09:51 - Libertarian Roots: Pro-Free Speech Evolution in Wrestling
00:10:03 - Early Political Views: From Socialist Leanings to Awakening
00:11:32 - Tax Trauma at 17: First Encounter with Government Overreach
00:15:13 - Taxation as Immoral: Due Process Failures & Slanted Courts
00:18:45 - Wikipedia Misrepresentation: Beyond Cannabis Advocacy
00:20:02 - Cannabis as Rebellion: Fighting Malum Prohibitum Laws
00:24:24 - Privacy Coins & Freedom: Using Cannabis to Push Liberty
00:30:05 - Slanted Courts & Tyranny: Presumptions Over Facts in Taxation
00:33:30 - Discovering Bitcoin: From Federal Reserve Critique to White Paper
00:35:12 - Money as Bankers' Tool: Inflation as Value Theft via Fiat
00:38:00 - Bitcoin's Appeal: Decentralized, Fixed Supply & Cryptography
00:41:47 - Pizza Purchase Milestone: Bootstrapping Bitcoin to Fiat
00:43:57 - First Bitcoin Buy: 24 BTC in 2013 at ~$80 Each
00:47:48 - Bitcoin as Speculation vs. Fiat Alternative
00:49:38 - Wrestling & Bitcoin Parallels: Value Creation & Sovereignty
01:20:00 - Monero & Privacy: Evading Surveillance in Transactions
01:45:00 - Roger Ver Case: Libertarian Views on Tax Evasion & Justice
02:10:00 - Wrestling Highlights: Val Venis in Video Games & Stats
02:48:00 - Mount Rushmore: Vince McMahon, Hulk Hogan, Stone Cold, The Rock
03:00:00 - Chris Benoit's Legacy: Wrestling Prowess Despite Tragedy
03:15:00 - Shawn Michaels Character Shift: From Annoying to Faithful
03:30:00 - Undertaker's Success: Vince's Protection & Longevity
03:45:00 - Triple H: Business Savvy Over In-Ring Dominance
04:00:00 - Hall of Fame Hopes: Focus on Liberty Over Induction
04:10:00 - One Last Match: vs. Cody Rhodes for Cancel Culture Feud
04:18:07 - Induction Choice: Vince McMahon or Vince Russo
04:20:19 - Bridging Communities: Bitcoin in Wrestling & Fan Demands
04:25:40 - Storyline Ideas: Libertarian Manager & Bitcoin Matches
04:30:20 - Closing: Social Media, Zcash Wallet Setup & Privacy Push

Sep 25, 2025 • 8h 29min
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.

Sep 17, 2025 • 3h 19min
S16 E44: Abdel on ZK STARKs & Bitcoin Maximalism
Abdel is a Starkware engineer who, over the last 7 years, went from building EIP 1559 on Ethereum to becoming a Bitcoin maximalist who wants ZK STARKs to happen. In this episode, we talk about his journey & some of Bitcoin's cultural issues.
Time stamps:
00:00:59 - Sponsors: Sideshift, Citrea, Bitcoin.com News, LayerTwo Labs, NoOnes.com
00:01:38 - Abdel's unique journey: From Ethereum core dev at ConsenSys to Bitcoin maximalism
00:02:17 - Early Bitcoin curiosity (2011-2012) vs Ethereum's "world computer" appeal
00:03:51 - Fintech background: Working for banks before fighting them
00:04:31 - Always a Bitcoin + Ethereum maxi: Building unstoppable systems
00:06:07 - North Star vs "Nostr": Unstoppable vs compromised systems
00:06:23 - Fintech to DeFi? Payments focus, not advanced trading
00:07:29 - First Ethereum contributions: Smart contracts
00:09:09 - Deep dive: Championing EIP-1559 (fee burn, ultrasound money)
00:11:03 - EIP-1559's governance risks: Changing monetary policy on the fly
00:11:16 - Ethereum's slippery slopes: DAO hard fork to fee burns
00:12:12 - Ethereum as anti-Bitcoin experiment: From colored coins to rollups
00:13:48 - Ethereum Classic hopes; market follows narratives, not fixed supply
00:14:28 - EIP-1559 process: 2+ years of debate vs Bitcoin's immutability
00:15:59 - Boiling frog with Vitalik: Accumulating compromises (trusted setups)
00:18:28 - Ethereum precedents: Premine, PoS migration, rushed upgrades
00:19:14 - Social layer strength: Protects core principles vs nation-states
00:19:41 - Non-tech users in governance: Better than dev-only control
00:22:32 - Educating the social layer: Privacy warnings in Bitcoin tools
00:24:26 - Risks: Bitcoin (tech obsolescence) vs Ethereum (social dilution)
00:26:49 - Bitcoin meetups: Ideology & tech vs Ethereum's builder focus
00:28:00 - Shocking anti-Bitcoin sentiment from Ethereum side
00:29:52 - PoW beauty: External entropy, fair distribution (not Ponzi)
00:31:44 - PoW vs PoS: Tolerating Ethereum's PoS for decentralization
00:34:20 - Bitcoin's privacy crisis: Needs scale + affordability
00:36:43 - Sponsor: Layer2 Labs (Drivechains for sidechains like Zcash fork)
00:38:02 - Sponsor: Citrea (ZK rollup on Bitcoin via BitVM2)
00:40:09 - Citrea drama: Unfair criticism amid filter wars
00:42:40 - Citrea vs Alpen: First-to-market wins (garbled circuits delay)
00:46:01 - Video game analogy: Duke Nukem Forever vs pragmatic launches
00:47:25 - Lesson from Ethereum: Optimistic rollups dominate despite ZK superiority
00:48:56 - Dev events vs mainstream: Bridging tech narratives to plebs
01:10:00 - Fragmentation in Bitcoin community, why plebs dismiss innovation
02:30:00 - Off-topic: Immigration in Europe (Romania/France parallels, economic pressures)
02:38:16 - Bitcoin as catalyst: Inflation from crises drives adoption
02:39:46 - Decentralization as development sign: Small-scale consensus
02:42:11 - New chains start centralized; trust incentives lacking in L2s
02:44:41 - Starkware as bridge to Bitcoin: Pre-existing interest
02:45:57 - Elevator pitch: STARK proofs for Bitcoin (open-source, battle-tested)
02:48:21 - Endgame: Verify STARKs on Bitcoin for programmability + privacy
02:49:52 - Meme magic: One STARK proof is smaller in size than a photo, costs less than a Big Mac, can be verified in a blink
02:52:29 - STARKs vs SNARKs: No trusted setup, quantum-secure, hash-based
02:54:31 - Experiments: Cashu with STARKs (private programmable e-cash)
02:58:37 - Nostr DVMS: Verifiable AI/services in permissionless marketplace
03:01:16 - Cashu origin story: Bar chat with Calle to Jack Dorsey endorsement
03:03:16 - Cashu honesty: Not scaling, but privacy bridge vs custodians
03:06:25 - Nihilism in Bitcoin: Mental gymnastics vs Ethereum's build-first ethos
03:07:48 - Permission culture: Asking nodes for ZK proofs/Lightning channels
03:08:27 - Event split: Dev confs (BTC++) vs narrative fests (BTC Prague)
03:10:29 - Why invest without understanding? Newbie wave acceleration
03:11:23 - Niche value: In-between content bridges extremes
03:13:48 - Who listens matters: Robin Linus' DM is more important than mass views
03:16:07 - Still early days: 16 years in, aim for 1B daily users
03:16:39 - Special word: "Grinta" (grit mindset) for full listeners
03:18:14 - Outro: Thanks & next: Shai on PoW improvements

Sep 12, 2025 • 1h 49min
S16 E43: Vikrant Sharma on Cake Wallet, Bitcoin & Privacy
Vikrant Sharma, better known as Vik, is the CEO and founder of Cake Wallet: the first Bitcoin wallet to support both Silent Payments and PayJoins. In this episode, we talk about the wallet's Monero roots & what is next in terms of features.
Time stamps:
00:01:05 - Introducing Vik
00:01:24 - Cake Wallet Features for Bitcoin and Monero
00:03:08 - Background Sync Improvements
00:03:49 - Monero.com Wallet Discussion
00:04:41 - Monero Community Insights
00:05:01 - Privacy in Monero Transactions
00:06:33 - Funding and Revenue Model
00:08:29 - Vik's Background in Steel and Tech
00:10:34 - Discovering Bitcoin and Privacy Apps
00:13:22 - Launching Cakewallet for Monero
00:14:23 - Why Start with Monero Over Bitcoin
00:15:35 - Origin of the Name "Cake Wallet"
00:17:36 - Order of Coins Added to Cake Wallet
00:19:09 - PayJoins and Silent Payments
00:21:11 - Citrea
00:22:34 - Layer 2 Labs and Drivechains
00:24:32 - Silent Payments Address Drama
00:25:35 - Qubic Mining Drama in Monero
00:30:42 - Monero's Resilience to Attacks
00:32:53 - Monero as a Stablecoin
00:33:41 - Use It to Win: Spending vs Hodling
00:36:38 - Treasury Company Plans
00:39:28 - Future of Privacy Coins
00:42:58 - SideShift.ai
00:44:20 - NoOnes.com
00:45:29 - Bitcoin.com News
00:46:37 - Taxes and Privacy Coins
00:48:42 - Layers of Privacy
00:59:00 - Zcash and Privacy Experiments
01:00:36 - Growing the Crypto Space
01:02:44 - Supported Coins: Ethereum
01:06:17 - Litecoin and MWEB Integration
01:08:43 - Dogecoin Addition
01:10:37 - Wownero for Monero Community
01:11:17 - Bitcoin Cash Support in Cake Wallet
01:13:30 - Polygon and Tron for Low Fees
01:15:44 - Nano for Feeless Payments
01:17:00 - Decred and Community Overlap
01:18:14 - Zano and Confidential Assets
01:20:06 - Lightning Network Plans
01:21:46 - Zcash Future Integration
01:23:02 - Cupcake Airgapped Wallet
01:26:00 - Considering Kaspa
01:29:56 - Dash Privacy Debate
01:32:20 - Network Effects and Wallet Choices
01:34:57 - Raven Coin Experiment
01:35:43 - Hiring Developers
01:36:18 - Custom Wallpapers and UI Overhaul
01:37:12 - One Seed for All Wallets
01:38:31 - How Many of the Supported Coins Will Survive?
01:39:46 - Multi-Coin Payment Services
01:40:32 - Pay Invoice Feature
01:42:03 - User Data and Privacy Policy
01:45:49 - Node Data Handling
01:47:04 - Advice on Self-Custody
01:48:17 - Where to Follow Vik and Cake Wallet
01:48:51 - Closing Remarks


