Bitcoin Takeover Podcast

Hernán Marino is an Argentinian bitcoiner who recently started contributing to Bitcoin Core. In this episode, he talks about his views on Bitcoin maximalism, what it's like to be a bitcoiner in a hyperinflationary country, and his hopes for the future.

Sergi Delgado is an engineer at Chaincode Labs, whose specialization and previous academic research is in peer to peer (P2P) networks. In this episode, he talks about his views on existing proposals to improve Bitcoin. In this podcast episode, Chaincode Labs engineer Sergi Delgado talks about Bitcoin development challenges, the Lightning network, and the importance of testing and security. Sergi talks about his lightning simulation software, SimLN, and its role in improving the lightning network's reliability. He addresses a recent LN vulnerability, the role of watchtowers, and the balance between decentralization, privacy, and user experience. The conversation also covers Bitcoin core development, skepticism towards altcoins and layer two solutions, and the complexities of protocol changes. Sergi emphasizes careful analysis when adding new features to Bitcoin and shares his positive experience working with the talented team at Chaincode Labs.

Wasabi Wallet now offers a "Buy Anything" button that lets you buy physical items with greater privacy?! How does that even work? ZK Snacks CEO Max Hillebrand & ShopInBit CEO Lando Rothbardian join the show to explain everything about this integration.

Bitcoin has recently fixed the presidential elections in Guatemala. How so? Rafael Cordon of Simple Proof is here to explain all about the power of OpenTimeStamps and how they can leverage the Bitcoin blockchain to prove that something really happened. (00:01:12) Rafael Cordon discusses the use of Bitcoin in the Guatemalan elections to prevent fraud and uphold the integrity of digital information. (00:03:39) Rafael explains the OpenTimeStamps protocol created by Peter Todd, which enables anyone to timestamp documents on the Bitcoin blockchain and store a hash using a Merkle tree. (00:08:47) Rafael describes how Simple Proof integrates with the preliminary result transmission system in the Guatemalan elections to timestamp the vote tally sheets on the Bitcoin blockchain, providing a way to verify the authenticity of the documents. (00:12:37) The discussion revolves around how Bitcoin can be used to prove the authenticity of voting information and debunk claims of tampering. (00:14:00) The conversation focuses on the benefits of using timestamping in elections, including cost savings, transparency, and the ability to reorganize elections if needed. (00:15:19) Rafael Cordon and Vlad discuss the potential applications of timestamping beyond elections, such as intellectual property, the justice system, and digital evidence. (00:23:33) Rafael Cordon explains how governments initially resisted adopting Bitcoin and cloud technologies, but later realized the benefits of using them for unalterable information and data storage. (00:24:55) Rafael Cordon suggests that using Bitcoin as a means to safeguard digital information can lead to a broader adoption of Bitcoin as a form of money. (00:26:31) We debate the use of NFTs and open timestamps to prove the authenticity and provenance of digital assets, such as artwork, and the potential for tracking the number of creations by famous artists. (00:35:36) Vlad and Rafael discuss the response from the Bitcoin community after an article was published detailing Bitcoin's role in the elections in Guatemala. (00:37:19) Vlad and Rafael Cordon talk about Carlinho's vision of using Bitcoin to bring together Central American countries under a unified currency. (00:42:39) Rafael describes the Bitcoin community in Guatemala, which includes startups addressing remittance use cases and the Bitcoin Lake experiment in Lake Atitlán. The speakers also express their preference for grassroots adoption over government imposition. (00:47:11) Discussion on the importance of legal interpretation and regulatory clarity for large corporations in adopting new technologies like Bitcoin. (00:48:11) Exploration of how startups have more room to maneuver and take risks due to the absence of specific laws regulating new technologies. (00:49:37) The significance of regulatory clarity in encouraging large corporations to adopt new technologies, with the example of El Salvador's legal recognition of Bitcoin. The Utopian Vision of Online Voting (00:59:10) Vlad Costea describes his initial enthusiasm for online voting and the belief that it would transform a broken representative democracy into a utopian direct democracy. Underutilized Technology and Consultancy Services (01:00:29) The Power of Open Timestamps (01:01:23)

Lea Petrasova, President of the Vexl Foundation, discusses the benefits of using Vexl, a mobile app for peer-to-peer Bitcoin exchanges. She compares Vexl to Tinder for safety, explains drawbacks of other exchanges, and highlights Vexl's use of real-world reputation and phone numbers as identifiers. Vexl is a free project with no plans for monetization, promoting peer-to-peer Bitcoin transactions without fees.

Firefish enables people to borrow fiat money against their bitcoins in a trust-minimized way, using a multisig setup with oracles. Martin and Igor, the two FireFish co-founders, talk about how and why you should be using their service. **Firefish: A New Use Case for Bitcoin as Collateral (00:01:54)** Discussion on how Firefish is using Bitcoin as collateral for loans and expanding the use cases for Bitcoin. **Firefish: Non-Custodial Platform and Peer-to-Peer Marketplace (00:04:29)** Explanation of how Firefish is a non-custodial platform and operates as a peer-to-peer marketplace for Bitcoin-backed loans. **Firefish's technical details (00:09:26)** Explanation of the technical aspects of Firefish, including the use of multi-sig and the different roles in the contract, such as borrower, lender, liquidator, payment oracle, and price oracle. **The Zombie Apocalypse Transaction (00:11:55)** Discussion about a transaction with a time lock that allows users to recover their bitcoin in the event of a zombie apocalypse. **How Oracles Work (00:12:30)** Explanation of how oracles function in the Bitcoin network and their role in verifying Firefish transactions. **Firefish's Target Audience and Use Cases (00:16:01)** Discussion about the target audience for the Firefish platform, including bitcoiners, institutions holding bitcoin, and traditional finance entities interested in funding bitcoin-backed loans. **Dispute Resolution Rules (00:23:41)** Discussion on the dispute resolution rules in Firefish platform for resolving conflicts between borrowers and lenders in fiat transactions. **Changing Perspective of Traditional Finance (00:28:30)** Exploration of how Firefish platform allows non-bitcoin native entities to become lenders and how it changes their perception of bitcoin. **Open Source Code (00:32:28)** Importance of open source code in Firefish platform for security and user trust, with plans to make the code open source in the future. **KYC and Anonymity (00:34:00)** Discussion about the need for KYC (Know Your Customer) in the banking system and the challenges of maintaining anonymity when dealing with fiat currency. **Implementing Stablecoins (00:38:10)** Consideration of implementing stablecoins as an option, discussing the trade-off between convenience and privacy/risk for users.

Lisa Neight (creator of the Base58 Bitcoin academy) and Calle (creator of Cashu) joined the Bitcoin Takeover podcast during the Hackers Congress in Prague. They speak about free open source software, popular Bitcoin scaling solutions, cars & more!

The 11th edition of Labitconf takes place in Buenos Aires this year, just a week before the final round of the presidential elections in Argentina. Rodolfo Andragnes tells us all about the event & his hopes for a libertarian president like Javier Milei.

Philipp Hoenisch is the founder of 101010: a project which aims to create synthetic bitcoin-backed stablecoins on top of the Lightning network. These stablecoins aim to minimize trust, as there's no central issuer or institution in the middle.

Phil Zimmermann is the creator of PGP & the cryptographer who made it safe to publish cryptography projects on the internet. In this episode, Mr. Zimmermann talks about Bitcoin, his opinion on various cryptography projects & his friendship with Hal Finney. This episode is sponsored by Wasabi wallet, Cryptosteel, Satodime, and ShopInBit. Time stamps: The cypherpunk movement in the 1990s [00:02:47] Discussion about Phil Zimmermann's involvement with the cypherpunk scene and his ideological alignment with their policies. The motivation behind making PGP open source [00:07:30] Exploration of Phil Zimmermann's reasons for making PGP open source, including the desire for extensive peer review and the benefits of strong encryption software. The impact of PGP on the development of cryptography protocols [00:10:47] Phil Zimmermann discusses how the publication of PGP, including its source code, taught many people how to do public key cryptography in software and contributed to the emergence of various protocols. Hal Finney and Tom Hanks [00:13:11] Discussion about the potential casting of Tom Hanks to play Hal Finney in a movie. Hal Finney's Role in PGP Development [00:13:36] Exploration of Hal Finney's contribution to the development of PGP and the trust model implementation. Proof of Work and Penny Black Project [00:14:20] Explanation of proof of work and its use in solving the double spending problem and reducing email spam through the Penny Black project. 17:48 – Did Phil Zimmermann ever think about inventing Bitcoin? 19:13 – Silent Phone. 20:40 – Encryption is fast. 22:45 – When did Phil Zimmermann hear about Bitcoin for the first time? 24:07 – Is Phil Zimmermann proud of enabling Bitcoin? 24:44 – Phil Zimmermann's disappointment about Bitcoin. Improving Bitcoin and Carbon Footprint [00:26:39] Discussion on ideas for improving Bitcoin, particularly in relation to reducing its carbon footprint. David Chaum's Ideas and Patents [00:29:47] Conversation about David Chaum's ideas and patents, and their impact on the acceptance and development of electronic cash, including Bitcoin. End-to-End Encryption and National Security [00:32:49] Exploration of the importance of end-to-end encryption for preserving democracy and national security, particularly in the context of networks controlled by potentially adversarial entities like China.