Chat_155 – Where We Are, Where We’ve Been, & Where We’re Going with Ben Kaufman
I sit down with Ben Kaufman to catch up and take stock of where Bitcoin actually is right now. We dig into the four-year cycle, whether it still matters, and what ETFs, politics, and financialization have changed about the culture.
Ben shares insights from his work on Miniscript and Bitcoin Keeper, including why better recovery, inheritance, and UX matter more than ever. We talk Lightning as the default payment rail, custodial tradeoffs for small amounts, and what sovereignty really means in practice.
The conversation drifts into AI, productivity, and why this shift feels bigger than anything we expected a few years ago. We also touch on privacy, regulation, and why that side of Bitcoin feels stalled despite better tools. This is a thoughtful conversation on building, patience, and why understanding Bitcoin matters more than chasing green candles.
Check out our awesome sponsors!
Ledn: Need fiat but don’t want to sell your Bitcoin? Ledn offers secure, Bitcoin-backed loans with no credit checks, flexible repayment, and fast turnaround—often within 24 hours. With $10B+ in loans across 100+ countries and transparent Proof of Reserves, Ledn is a trusted option for unlocking liquidity without giving up your Bitcoin. (Link: https://learn.ledn.io/audible)
HRF: The Human Rights Foundation is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that promotes and protects human rights globally, with a focus on closed societies. Subscribe to HRF’s Financial Freedom Newsletter today. (Link: https://mailchi.mp/hrf.org/financial-freedom-newsletter)
OFF: The Oslo Freedom Forum is a global human rights event by the Human Rights Foundation (HRF), uniting voices from activism, journalism, tech, and beyond. Through powerful stories and collaboration, OFF advances freedom and human potential worldwide. Join us next June. (Link: https://oslofreedomforum.com/)
Pubky: Pubky is building the next web, a decentralized system designed to put control back in your hands. Escape censorship, algorithmic manipulation, and walled gardens by owning your identity and data. Explore the Pubky web and become the algorithm today. Don’t forget to find me on my Pubky ID here: pk:5d7thwzkxx5mz6gk1f19wfyykr6nrwzaxri3io7ahejg1z74qngo. (Link: https://pubky.org)
Chroma: Chroma is dedicated to advancing human performance and well-being through cutting-edge light therapy devices and performance eyewear. Their mission is to enhance physical and mental health, unlocking peak human health, cognitive function, and physical performance. Get 10% off your order with the code BITCOINAUDIBLE. (Link: https://getchroma.co/?ref=BitcoinAudible)
Host Links
Guy on Nostr (Link: http://tinyurl.com/2xc96ney)
Guy on X (Link: https://twitter.com/theguyswann)
Guy on Instagram (Link: https://www.instagram.com/theguyswann)
Guy on TikTok (Link: https://www.tiktok.com/@theguyswann)
Guy on YouTube (Link: https://www.youtube.com/@theguyswann)
Bitcoin Audible on X (Link: https://twitter.com/BitcoinAudible)
The Guy Swann Network Broadcast Room on Keet (Link: https://tinyurl.com/3na6v839)
Chat_154 – Unpacking “The Cat” with the Shitcoin Insider
In this Chat episode with JC, we dive straight into the wild world of AI tooling, vibe coding, Bitcoin protocol design, and the new CAT proposal that has everyone fired up. We explore whether spam is actually a threat, what this new proposal would do to ordinal markets, and why the social layer of Bitcoin governance matters more than people admit. I ask what truly counts as an exploit, and whether sats can stay fungible when the market tries to make them something else.
We talk about censorship, mailing list politics, and why shutting down discussion only breeds distrust. Along the way we wander into AI powered creativity, distributed databases, and the strange overlap between developers and spammers. This one is part technical deep dive, part culture critique, and part nostalgia for the Shitcoin Insider days.
If you want to hear a conversation that asks uncomfortable questions and laughs at the absurdity of it all, this episode is for you.
Check out our awesome sponsors!
Ledn: Need fiat but don’t want to sell your Bitcoin? Ledn offers secure, Bitcoin-backed loans with no credit checks, flexible repayment, and fast turnaround—often within 24 hours. With $10B+ in loans across 100+ countries and transparent Proof of Reserves, Ledn is a trusted option for unlocking liquidity without giving up your Bitcoin. (Link: https://learn.ledn.io/audible)
HRF: The Human Rights Foundation is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that promotes and protects human rights globally, with a focus on closed societies. Subscribe to HRF’s Financial Freedom Newsletter today. (Link: https://mailchi.mp/hrf.org/financial-freedom-newsletter)
OFF: The Oslo Freedom Forum is a global human rights event by the Human Rights Foundation (HRF), uniting voices from activism, journalism, tech, and beyond. Through powerful stories and collaboration, OFF advances freedom and human potential worldwide. Join us next June. (Link: https://oslofreedomforum.com/)
Pubky: Pubky is building the next web, a decentralized system designed to put control back in your hands. Escape censorship, algorithmic manipulation, and walled gardens by owning your identity and data. Explore the Pubky web and become the algorithm today. Don’t forget to find me on my Pubky ID here: pk:5d7thwzkxx5mz6gk1f19wfyykr6nrwzaxri3io7ahejg1z74qngo. (Link: https://pubky.org)
Chroma: Chroma is dedicated to advancing human performance and well-being through cutting-edge light therapy devices and performance eyewear. Their mission is to enhance physical and mental health, unlocking peak human health, cognitive function, and physical performance. Get 10% off your order with the code BITCOINAUDIBLE. (Link: https://getchroma.co/?ref=BitcoinAudible)
Guest Links
JC on X (Link: https://twitter.com/barackomaba)
Host Links
Guy on Nostr (Link: http://tinyurl.com/2xc96ney)
Guy on X (Link: https://twitter.com/theguyswann)
Guy on Instagram (Link: https://www.instagram.com/theguyswann)
Guy on TikTok (Link: https://www.tiktok.com/@theguyswann)
Guy on YouTube (Link: https://www.youtube.com/@theguyswann)
Chat_153 – Welcome to Subscription Hell with Matt Ahlborg
In this Chat, I speak with Matt from PPQ.ai about the broken world of AI subscriptions, the power of micropayments, and why Lightning-enabled pay-per-use may be the future of AI tooling. What is subscription hell really costing us, in money, attention, and creative freedom? Can tiny sats and better UX replace the wall of monthly fees and unlock new ways for creators to earn?
Along the way, we explore the pain of credit‑card‑based subscription methods, the explosion of AI models, and how PPQ.ai brings them all into one place with simple Lightning payments.
It’s a packed conversation covering Bitcoin, Lightning, AI, UX friction, and the future of creator monetization.
Check out our awesome sponsors!
Ledn: Need fiat but don’t want to sell your Bitcoin? Ledn offers secure, Bitcoin-backed loans with no credit checks, flexible repayment, and fast turnaround—often within 24 hours. With $10B+ in loans across 100+ countries and transparent Proof of Reserves, Ledn is a trusted option for unlocking liquidity without giving up your Bitcoin. (Link: https://learn.ledn.io/audible)
HRF: The Human Rights Foundation is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that promotes and protects human rights globally, with a focus on closed societies. Subscribe to HRF’s Financial Freedom Newsletter today. (Link: https://mailchi.mp/hrf.org/financial-freedom-newsletter)
OFF: The Oslo Freedom Forum is a global human rights event by the Human Rights Foundation (HRF), uniting voices from activism, journalism, tech, and beyond. Through powerful stories and collaboration, OFF advances freedom and human potential worldwide. Join us next June. (Link: https://oslofreedomforum.com/)
Pubky: Pubky is building the next web, a decentralized system designed to put control back in your hands. Escape censorship, algorithmic manipulation, and walled gardens by owning your identity and data. Explore the Pubky web and become the algorithm today. Don’t forget to find me on my Pubky ID here: pk:5d7thwzkxx5mz6gk1f19wfyykr6nrwzaxri3io7ahejg1z74qngo. (Link: https://pubky.org)
Chroma: Chroma is dedicated to advancing human performance and well-being through cutting-edge light therapy devices and performance eyewear. Their mission is to enhance physical and mental health, unlocking peak human health, cognitive function, and physical performance. Get 10% off your order with the code BITCOINAUDIBLE. (Link: https://getchroma.co/?ref=BitcoinAudible)
Guest Links
Matt on X (Link: https://twitter.com/mattahlborg)
PPQ.ai on X (Link: https://twitter.com/PPQdotAI)
PPQ.ai Website (Link: https://ppq.ai/)
Host Links
Guy on Nostr (Link: http://tinyurl.com/2xc96ney)
Guy on X (Link: https://twitter.com/theguyswann)
Guy on Instagram (Link: https://www.instagram.com/theguyswann)
Guy on TikTok (Link: https://www.tiktok.com/@theguyswann)
Guy on YouTube (Link: https://www.youtube.com/@theguyswann)
Bitcoin Audible on X (Link: https://twitter.com/BitcoinAudible)
The Guy Swann Network…
Chat_152 – Forging Satoshi with Mark Hunter & Arthur Van Pelt
“If you can get a court to say you’re Satoshi, and you are of this mindset, you can then go ahead and you can sue Bitcoin developers, Bitcoin exchanges, whatever, to say, “look, I’ve got a court ruling that I’m Satoshi. Your version of Bitcoin is not the real Bitcoin. I’m Satoshi. My version of Bitcoin”, which in Craig’s world as BSV, is the real Bitcoin. So you need to either pay damages or license from me, etc.
So the whole point was to get a court to rule he was Satoshi, which would give him the foundation to file these lawsuits that he did at the same time anyway. But that was the whole point was to get that first one through the door, get a court to say he’s Satoshi, give him massive backing when he tries to take on the institutions to try and get the billions from them. Because again, just like with the ATO, it’s a shortcut to riches.”~ Mark Hunter
What happens when an elaborate con becomes one of Bitcoin’s strangest sagas? In this episode, I sit down with Mark Hunter (Dr. Bitcoin) and Arthur Van Pelt—the duo behind the “FakeToshi” chronicle—to dig into the unbelievable story of Craig Wright, Calvin Ayre, and the tangled web of fake lawsuits, forged evidence, and tax scams that have haunted Bitcoin for nearly a decade.
We unpack the origins of the infamous “Satoshi” claims, how two researchers uncovered endless contradictions, and why the trail now stretches from Australian tax authorities all the way to Europe’s Wirecard scandal. How did one man’s pursuit of prestige and power turn into an ongoing courtroom drama—and why does anyone still believe him?
It’s a fascinating blend of true crime, bitcoin history, and a cautionary tale about hubris in the digital age.
Check out our awesome sponsors!
Ledn: Need fiat but don’t want to sell your Bitcoin? Ledn offers secure, Bitcoin-backed loans with no credit checks, flexible repayment, and fast turnaround—often within 24 hours. With $10B+ in loans across 100+ countries and transparent Proof of Reserves, Ledn is a trusted option for unlocking liquidity without giving up your Bitcoin. (Link: https://learn.ledn.io/audible)
HRF: The Human Rights Foundation is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that promotes and protects human rights globally, with a focus on closed societies. Subscribe to HRF’s Financial Freedom Newsletter today. (Link: https://mailchi.mp/hrf.org/financial-freedom-newsletter)
OFF: The Oslo Freedom Forum is a global human rights event by the Human Rights Foundation (HRF), uniting voices from activism, journalism, tech, and beyond. Through powerful stories and collaboration, OFF advances freedom and human potential worldwide. Join us next June. (Link: https://oslofreedomforum.com/)
Pubky: Pubky is building the next web, a decentralized system designed to put control back in your hands. Escape censorship, algorithmic manipulation, and walled gardens by owning your identity and data. Explore the Pubky web and become the algorithm today. Don’t forget to find me on my Pubky ID here: pk:5d7thwzkxx5mz6gk1f19wfyykr6nrwzaxri3io7ahejg1z74qngo. (Link: https://pubky.org)
Chroma: Chroma is dedicated to advancing human performance and well-being through cutting-edge light therapy devices and performance eyewear. Their mission is to enhance physical and mental health, unlocking peak human health, cognitive function, and physical performance. Get 10% off your order with the code BITCOINAUDIBLE. (Link: https://getchroma.co/?ref=BitcoinAudible)
Guest Links
Chat_151 – Bitcoin Technically, Ideologically, and Actually with Murch
“I think that all of the people that I know that are working on Bitcoin Core and other Bitcoin projects are onlyinterested in the monetary use case. But I think that many of them take a more long term view in how that might be happening if we’re trying to get towards this being not just the money for anyone, but the money for everyone.”~ Murch
In this episode, I sit down with Murch, long-time Bitcoin Core developer and co-founder of Localhost Research, for a deep and candid dive into how Bitcoin really works — not just technically, but socially and ideologically. We explore how Core contributors organize, fund, and ship software, the recent OP_RETURN debate, and the cultural divides that have surfaced around Bitcoin development.
Can the protocol stay pure and neutral while the community grows more opinionated? What does it mean when social dynamics shape technical direction? And how can open-source developers and commentators bridge the gap to keep Bitcoin strong and united?
From software releases and mempool policy to the human side of collaboration and conflict — this chat goes right to the heart of what it means to build Bitcoin.
Check out our awesome sponsors!
Ledn: Need fiat but don’t want to sell your Bitcoin? Ledn offers secure, Bitcoin-backed loans with no credit checks, flexible repayment, and fast turnaround—often within 24 hours. With $10B+ in loans across 100+ countries and transparent Proof of Reserves, Ledn is a trusted option for unlocking liquidity without giving up your Bitcoin. (Link: https://learn.ledn.io/audible)
HRF: The Human Rights Foundation is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that promotes and protects human rights globally, with a focus on closed societies. Subscribe to HRF’s Financial Freedom Newsletter today. (Link: https://mailchi.mp/hrf.org/financial-freedom-newsletter)
OFF: The Oslo Freedom Forum is a global human rights event by the Human Rights Foundation (HRF), uniting voices from activism, journalism, tech, and beyond. Through powerful stories and collaboration, OFF advances freedom and human potential worldwide. Join us next June. (Link: https://oslofreedomforum.com/)
Pubky: Pubky is building the next web, a decentralized system designed to put control back in your hands. Escape censorship, algorithmic manipulation, and walled gardens by owning your identity and data. Explore the Pubky web and become the algorithm today. Don’t forget to find me on my Pubky ID here: pk:5d7thwzkxx5mz6gk1f19wfyykr6nrwzaxri3io7ahejg1z74qngo. (Link: https://pubky.org)
Chroma: Chroma is dedicated to advancing human performance and well-being through cutting-edge light therapy devices and performance eyewear. Their mission is to enhance physical and mental health, unlocking peak human health, cognitive function, and physical performance. Get 10% off your order with the code BITCOINAUDIBLE. (Link: https://getchroma.co/?ref=BitcoinAudible)
Guest Links
Murch Website (Link: https://murch.one/)
Murch on X (Link: https://x.com/cguida6)
Murch on Github (Link: https://github.com/Murchandamus)
Localhost Research (Link: https://lclhost.org/)
Host Links
Guy on Nostr (Link: http://tinyurl.com/2xc96ney)
Chat_150 – Why We Argue with Chris Guida
“Bitcoiners have a spirit. I think the spirit is an ancient spirit. It goes back to the American Revolution. It goes back to the Magna Carta. It goes back to ancient Greece. It goes back to Christianity in the early Middle East.This spirit of individual freedom, individual rights, there’s something inside of each of us that is divine, that kind of thing.And I think that is the cultural signal that resonates with all of humanity. And I think that’s Bitcoin’s culture. And I think that if we lose that, then we lose Bitcoin.”~ Chris Guida
In this episode, I sit down with developer and Bitcoiner Chris Guida for a deep dive into why we argue – and why that’s a good thing. We explore the culture of Bitcoin, how real debate can sharpen ideas, and what it means to fight against centralization both in code and in mindset. We go from the philosophy of disagreement to the mechanics of Lightning, ARK, and merchant adoption, to what makes Bitcoin’s culture so uniquely worth defending. Chris and I trade takes on covenants, paper Bitcoin, and the eternal battle between centralization and sovereignty. Why does fiat make us irrational? How do we scale not just Bitcoin’s tech, but its culture? And what does it really mean to win – culturally, technologically, and philosophically? It’s one of those classic long-form chats where we stretch from technical nuance to deep principles – exactly the kind of conversation Bitcoin demands.
Check out our awesome sponsors!
Ledn: Need fiat but don’t want to sell your Bitcoin? Ledn offers secure, Bitcoin-backed loans with no credit checks, flexible repayment, and fast turnaround—often within 24 hours. With $10B+ in loans across 100+ countries and transparent Proof of Reserves, Ledn is a trusted option for unlocking liquidity without giving up your Bitcoin. (Link: https://learn.ledn.io/audible)
HRF: The Human Rights Foundation is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that promotes and protects human rights globally, with a focus on closed societies. Subscribe to HRF’s Financial Freedom Newsletter today. (Link: https://mailchi.mp/hrf.org/financial-freedom-newsletter)
OFF: The Oslo Freedom Forum is a global human rights event by the Human Rights Foundation (HRF), uniting voices from activism, journalism, tech, and beyond. Through powerful stories and collaboration, OFF advances freedom and human potential worldwide. Join us next June. (Link: https://oslofreedomforum.com/)
Pubky: Pubky is building the next web, a decentralized system designed to put control back in your hands. Escape censorship, algorithmic manipulation, and walled gardens by owning your identity and data. Explore the Pubky web and become the algorithm today. Don’t forget to find me on my Pubky ID here: pk:5d7thwzkxx5mz6gk1f19wfyykr6nrwzaxri3io7ahejg1z74qngo. (Link: https://pubky.org)
Chroma: Chroma is dedicated to advancing human performance and well-being through cutting-edge light therapy devices and performance eyewear. Their mission is to enhance physical and mental health, unlocking peak human health, cognitive function, and physical performance. Get 10% off your order with the code BITCOINAUDIBLE. (Link: https://getchroma.co/?ref=BitcoinAudible)
Guest Links
Chris Guida on X (Link: https://x.com/cguida6)
Chris Guida on Github (…
Chat_149 – We’re Not the Main Characters with Aleks Svetski
“The necessity for guys to be around other good guys and girls to be around other good girls… we had that really well structured all throughout history. We fucked it all up over the last of the last hundred years when we mixed everything together. And the price we’re paying for it is that guys are more like women now and women are more like guys. And you start to lose the tension.Because what you need for any sort of force or charge to exist is you need polarity. You need a positive pole and negative pole. You need a north and a south. You need a day and a night. You need a man and a woman. You need that. And the more you kill polarity and you move things towards sameness and similarity, the more you lose the tension and the more you lose the charge.”~ Aleks Svetski
Aleks Svetski returns to the show – this time as a new father – and we dive deep into how life, virtue, and purpose change once you’re raising the next generation. From home birth and the raw reality of becoming a dad, to the philosophy of Bushido of Bitcoin, we explore growth through discomfort, the tension between opposing virtues, and why true wisdom lives in that tension.
We talk about choosing responsibility over comfort, why the world needs polarity – men as men, women as women – and how modern culture’s obsession with balance and safety is erasing meaning. Svetski shares his evolving view on individualism, the rise of the “sovereign tribe,” and why character must come before capital.
We end by diving into his latest project, building tools for the experience economy – products that drive us off the screen and back into the real world. It’s a whirlwind of fatherhood, philosophy, Bitcoin, and growing the courage to say no so you can build what really matters.
Check out our awesome sponsors!
Ledn: Need fiat but don’t want to sell your Bitcoin? Ledn offers secure, Bitcoin-backed loans with no credit checks, flexible repayment, and fast turnaround—often within 24 hours. With $10B+ in loans across 100+ countries and transparent Proof of Reserves, Ledn is a trusted option for unlocking liquidity without giving up your Bitcoin. (Link: https://learn.ledn.io/audible)
HRF: The Human Rights Foundation is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that promotes and protects human rights globally, with a focus on closed societies. Subscribe to HRF’s Financial Freedom Newsletter today. (Link: https://mailchi.mp/hrf.org/financial-freedom-newsletter)
OFF: The Oslo Freedom Forum is a global human rights event by the Human Rights Foundation (HRF), uniting voices from activism, journalism, tech, and beyond. Through powerful stories and collaboration, OFF advances freedom and human potential worldwide. Join us next June. (Link: https://oslofreedomforum.com/)
Pubky: Pubky is building the next web, a decentralized system designed to put control back in your hands. Escape censorship, algorithmic manipulation, and walled gardens by owning your identity and data. Explore the Pubky web and become the algorithm today. Don’t forget to find me on my Pubky ID here: pk:5d7thwzkxx5mz6gk1f19wfyykr6nrwzaxri3io7ahejg1z74qngo. (Link: https://pubky.org)
Chroma: Chroma is dedicated to advancing human performance and well-being through cutting-edge light therapy devices and performance eyewear. Their mission is to enhance physical and mental health, unlocking peak human health, cognitive function, and physical performance. Get 10% off your order with t…
Chat_148 – It Doesn’t Pass the Smell Test with Jimmy Song
“If you have this disconnect between Core devs that value one thing and the users that value something else, something’s got to give at some point, right? Either you get developers that are more in line with the users or a lot of the other users kind of end up leaving and so on.So this is not a trivial concern and it’s a big attacksurface and we’ve seen it in these communities where a lot of this political stuff enters and then next thing you know it gets completely sort of subsumed by that movement, by institutional capture, if you will.And that’s not just true in open source software, it’s true in every nonprofit organization and so on.This is a big problem.”~ Jimmy Song
Jimmy Song joins me for a deep dive into one of the most heated topics in Bitcoin today – the debate around Bitcoin Core, the OP_RETURN controversy, and the growing cultural divide within Bitcoin development. We explore whether Bitcoin’s technical decisions have become political moves, and what “verify, don’t trust” really means when trust itself starts eroding.
We talk about Bitcoin’s identity crisis between innovation and ossification – should Bitcoin keep evolving with new toys, or hold the line and protect what already works? We cover everything from Taproot’s legacy to mining decentralization, censorship, left–right polarization in the dev community, and the spirit of cypherpunk independence.
Most importantly, Jimmy challenges us to think for ourselves – to stop being clones of whoever we agree with, and to test every assumption against reality. Because Bitcoin’s strength has never been in consensus for its own sake, but in the willingness to ask hard questions.
Check out our awesome sponsors!
Ledn: Need fiat but don’t want to sell your Bitcoin? Ledn offers secure, Bitcoin-backed loans with no credit checks, flexible repayment, and fast turnaround—often within 24 hours. With $10B+ in loans across 100+ countries and transparent Proof of Reserves, Ledn is a trusted option for unlocking liquidity without giving up your Bitcoin. (Link: https://learn.ledn.io/audible)
HRF: The Human Rights Foundation is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that promotes and protects human rights globally, with a focus on closed societies. Subscribe to HRF’s Financial Freedom Newsletter today. (Link: https://mailchi.mp/hrf.org/financial-freedom-newsletter)
OFF: The Oslo Freedom Forum is a global human rights event by the Human Rights Foundation (HRF), uniting voices from activism, journalism, tech, and beyond. Through powerful stories and collaboration, OFF advances freedom and human potential worldwide. Join us next June. (Link: https://oslofreedomforum.com/)
Pubky: Pubky is building the next web, a decentralized system designed to put control back in your hands. Escape censorship, algorithmic manipulation, and walled gardens by owning your identity and data. Explore the Pubky web and become the algorithm today. Don’t forget to find me on my Pubky ID here: pk:5d7thwzkxx5mz6gk1f19wfyykr6nrwzaxri3io7ahejg1z74qngo. (Link: https://pubky.org)
Chroma: Chroma is dedicated to advancing human performance and well-being through cutting-edge light therapy devices and performance eyewear. Their mission is to enhance physical and mental health, unlocking peak human health, cognitive function, and physical performance. Get 10% off your order with the code BITCOINAUDIBLE…
Chat_147 – Insuring the Uninsurable with Rob Hamilton
“One of the founding tenets of anarcho-capitalism [is] that in a world without a government, you would have insurance contracts as the means for negotiating, disputing things. This actually goes into the original firedepartments were actually insurance companies. You’d purchase fire insurance from a particular purveyor of fire insurance and you would actually stamp on the cornerstone of your building, the sigil of whatever insurance company was protecting your property.If the fire burned the building, the insurance company’s on the hook. It’s the most skin in the game, risk aligned way to get different parties to align on an outcome as an insurance contract. It’s so much cheaper just to have an on-call fire bucket brigade team than to rebuild a building. So in the world without a government, you have insurance contracts.”~ Rob Hamilton
In this conversation with Rob Hamilton of AnchorWatch, we dive deep into the evolving frontier of Bitcoin custody, multisig innovation, and the emergence of Bitcoin‑insured financial infrastructure. We explore how tools like Miniscript and MuSig are reshaping what’s possible with shared ownership, time locks, and key hierarchies, and why AnchorWatch’s partnership with Lloyd’s of London represents far more than just insured Bitcoin—it’s a preview of an entirely new risk and capital market built on Bitcoin.
We talk about turning legal contracts into programmable money, the bridge between Bitcoin and traditional insurance, and the future path from Lloyd’s underwriting to fully Bitcoin‑denominated coverage. Rob breaks down how multisig could transform the meaning of trust, and we even venture into the implications for Lightning, AI authentication, and the long‑arc future of custody itself.
How do we insure Bitcoin without fiat? Can multisig redefine the institutional model? And what might a Bitcoin‑native insurance industry look like when the world finally catches up?
Check out our awesome sponsors!
Ledn: Need fiat but don’t want to sell your Bitcoin? Ledn offers secure, Bitcoin-backed loans with no credit checks, flexible repayment, and fast turnaround—often within 24 hours. With $10B+ in loans across 100+ countries and transparent Proof of Reserves, Ledn is a trusted option for unlocking liquidity without giving up your Bitcoin. (Link: https://learn.ledn.io/audible)
HRF: The Human Rights Foundation is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that promotes and protects human rights globally, with a focus on closed societies. Subscribe to HRF’s Financial Freedom Newsletter today. (Link: https://mailchi.mp/hrf.org/financial-freedom-newsletter)
OFF: The Oslo Freedom Forum is a global human rights event by the Human Rights Foundation (HRF), uniting voices from activism, journalism, tech, and beyond. Through powerful stories and collaboration, OFF advances freedom and human potential worldwide. Join us next June. (Link: https://oslofreedomforum.com/)
Pubky: Pubky is building the next web, a decentralized system designed to put control back in your hands. Escape censorship, algorithmic manipulation, and walled gardens by owning your identity and data. Explore the Pubky web and become the algorithm today. Don’t forget to find me on my Pubky ID here: pk:5d7thwzkxx5mz6gk1f19wfyykr6nrwzaxri3io7ahejg1z74qngo. (Link: https://pubky.org)
Chroma: Chroma is dedicated to advancing human performance and wel…
Chat_146 – Building for Sovereignty with Craig Raw
“When you hold the Bitcoin yourself, you already have the control over it that you don’t get with any other custodial financial instrument. And I think that people need to think about that more because you can come to Bitcoin… because… it sounds good, I’m going to invest my dollars, and I’m going to get the Bitcoin, the Bitcoin is going to become worth more than the dollars over time, that’s usually what gets them in.But I would say what makes them stay is the permissionlessness of it. Is the fact that you can have this money, and it’s your money. And the bank can’t decide “We’re not going to bank with you anymore, you gotta go and find someone else”. The exchange can’t get hacked. If you want to go somewhere else in the world, it’s not like they’re just going to say, “Well, I’m sorry, we don’t allow our money to go to that part of the world”.It’s not really your money in that sense.”~ Craig Raw
What’s it really like to build essential tools in Bitcoin when the world keeps changing around you? And how do you keep pushing for true self-sovereignty when everything feels so complicated?
In this chat, I’m stoked to sit down with Craig Raw, the legendary developer behind Sparrow Wallet. We get into his journey, why he built Sparrow out of pure passion, and how his own path to financial freedom led to such a powerful tool. We’ll also dig into other topics like how the Patriot Act might affect Bitcoin privacy, and the technical magic of PSBTs and Miniscript.
Craig also drops some really cool insights into how Bitcoin is actually being used for everyday payments in South Africa with apps like Money Badger. Plus, we chew on the bigger ideas of personal sovereignty and why holding your own keys is more important than ever in today’s wild financial climate. If you’re curious about the real grit and genius behind the tools that empower us, you won’t want to miss this one.
Check out our awesome sponsors!
Ledn: Need fiat but don’t want to sell your Bitcoin? Ledn offers secure, Bitcoin-backed loans with no credit checks, flexible repayment, and fast turnaround—often within 24 hours. With $10B+ in loans across 100+ countries and transparent Proof of Reserves, Ledn is a trusted option for unlocking liquidity without giving up your Bitcoin. (Link: https://learn.ledn.io/audible)
HRF: The Human Rights Foundation is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that promotes and protects human rights globally, with a focus on closed societies. Subscribe to HRF’s Financial Freedom Newsletter today. (Link: https://mailchi.mp/hrf.org/financial-freedom-newsletter)
OFF: The Oslo Freedom Forum is a global human rights event by the Human Rights Foundation (HRF), uniting voices from activism, journalism, tech, and beyond. Through powerful stories and collaboration, OFF advances freedom and human potential worldwide. Join us next June. (Link: https://oslofreedomforum.com/)
Pubky: Pubky is building the next web, a decentralized system designed to put control back in your hands. Escape censorship, algorithmic manipulation, and walled gardens by owning your identity and data. Explore the Pubky web and become the algorithm today. Don’t forget to find me on my Pubky ID here: pk:5d7thwzkxx5mz6gk1f19wfyykr6nrwzaxri3io7ahejg1z74qngo. (Link: https://pubky.org)
Chroma: Chroma is dedicated to advancing human performance and well-being through cutting-edge light therapy devices and performance eyewear. Their mission is to enha…
Chat_145 – Trust Scales Where Bitcoin Can’t with John Carvalho
“The atomic economy and Synonym’s mission is to research, design and ship a working free market society. So not just a free market economy, but a free market society. /CUT/ So it replaces government, it replaces big tech, it replaces big banks, it replaces Visa, MasterCard, you know, everything. Everything you would want to do in a network is represented here as part of the economy.”~ John Carvalho
What happens when the drive to “scale Bitcoin” collides with the reality that trust itself may be the one thing that actually scales? In this conversation with John Carvalho, we dig into Synonym’s vision for the “atomic economy” — a rethinking of how identity, payments, and data flow across the web. We talk about PubKey, PayKit, and the hard lessons of building and scrapping projects until they actually work. We pull apart the hype around Nostr, BlueSky, and Holepunch, and ask whether decentralization is enough or if we really just end up with new kinds of trusted hubs. Along the way, John shares candid thoughts on running a business, managing culture inside a startup, and the frustrations of navigating Bitcoin scaling debates.
Is Bitcoin about removing trust — or about enabling us to place it more wisely? How do we build tools for coordination without creating new silos? And what does it really take to design a free-market society from the ground up?
Check out our awesome sponsors!
Ledn: Need fiat but don’t want to sell your Bitcoin? Ledn offers secure, Bitcoin-backed loans with no credit checks, flexible repayment, and fast turnaround—often within 24 hours. With $10B+ in loans across 100+ countries and transparent Proof of Reserves, Ledn is a trusted option for unlocking liquidity without giving up your Bitcoin. (Link: https://learn.ledn.io/audible)
HRF: The Human Rights Foundation is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that promotes and protects human rights globally, with a focus on closed societies. Subscribe to HRF’s Financial Freedom Newsletter today. (Link: https://mailchi.mp/hrf.org/financial-freedom-newsletter)
OFF: The Oslo Freedom Forum is a global human rights event by the Human Rights Foundation (HRF), uniting voices from activism, journalism, tech, and beyond. Through powerful stories and collaboration, OFF advances freedom and human potential worldwide. Join us next June. (Link: https://oslofreedomforum.com/)
Pubky: Pubky is building the next web, a decentralized system designed to put control back in your hands. Escape censorship, algorithmic manipulation, and walled gardens by owning your identity and data. Explore the Pubky web and become the algorithm today. Don’t forget to find me on my Pubky ID here: pk:5d7thwzkxx5mz6gk1f19wfyykr6nrwzaxri3io7ahejg1z74qngo. (Link: https://pubky.org)
Chroma: Chroma is dedicated to advancing human performance and well-being through cutting-edge light therapy devices and performance eyewear. Their mission is to enhance physical and mental health, unlocking peak human health, cognitive function, and physical performance. Get 10% off your order with the code BITCOINAUDIBLE. (Link: https://getchroma.co/?ref=BitcoinAudible)
Host Links
Guy on Nostr (Link: http://tinyurl.com/2xc96ney)
Guy on X (Link: https://twitter.com/theguyswann)
Guy on Instagram (Link: https://www.in…
Chat_144 – Accelerating into the Dollar Endgame with Peruvian Bull
“It’s that old saying, right? It’s that meme. It’s like, however bad you think it is, it’s going to get worse, right? But at the same time, it’s also going to get better.So be very bearish on fiat. Be very bullish on Bitcoin. This system, it’s going to get worse. The collateral problem and the fail to deliver problem is going to get worse. Your shares that you own in brokerage aren’t really yours. They’re held by the broker. They’re held at the DTCC. They can freeze them whenever they want. They can create fake shares whenever they want. They can fail to deliver. They can naked short. They can manipulate with derivatives, all these sorts of things. And really the only financial asset that you can truly own is Bitcoin.”~ Peruvian Bull
In this episode, I sit down with Peruvian Bull for a deep dive into the fragility of our financial system. From Japan’s zombified economy to the slow-motion collapse of the U.S. dollar, we peel back the illusions of stability that most people take for granted. Why does the debt machine always accelerate? What if your stocks aren’t really yours? And how does Bitcoin fit as the inevitable escape hatch?We dig into the GameStop saga, the “great taking” of securities, stealth QE, the carry trade, and why debt — not retail payments — may be the problem Bitcoin is destined to solve first. Along the way, we explore what happens when central banks kick the can “up the stairs,” why Japan’s story is a glimpse of our own future, and how individuals can prepare themselves before the next inning begins.This one is a rich discussion for anyone trying to make sense of late-stage fiat, the dollar endgame, and the hope that Bitcoin offers.
Check out our awesome sponsors!
Ledn: Need fiat but don’t want to sell your Bitcoin? Ledn offers secure, Bitcoin-backed loans with no credit checks, flexible repayment, and fast turnaround—often within 24 hours. With $10B+ in loans across 100+ countries and transparent Proof of Reserves, Ledn is a trusted option for unlocking liquidity without giving up your Bitcoin. (Link: https://learn.ledn.io/audible)
HRF: The Human Rights Foundation is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that promotes and protects human rights globally, with a focus on closed societies. Subscribe to HRF’s Financial Freedom Newsletter today. (Link: https://mailchi.mp/hrf.org/financial-freedom-newsletter)
OFF: The Oslo Freedom Forum is a global human rights event by the Human Rights Foundation (HRF), uniting voices from activism, journalism, tech, and beyond. Through powerful stories and collaboration, OFF advances freedom and human potential worldwide. Join us next June. (Link: https://oslofreedomforum.com/)
Pubky: Pubky is building the next web, a decentralized system designed to put control back in your hands. Escape censorship, algorithmic manipulation, and walled gardens by owning your identity and data. Explore the Pubky web and become the algorithm today. Don’t forget to find me on my Pubky ID here: pk:5d7thwzkxx5mz6gk1f19wfyykr6nrwzaxri3io7ahejg1z74qngo. (Link: https://pubky.org)
Chroma: Chroma is dedicated to advancing human performance and well-being through cutting-edge light therapy devices and performance eyewear. Their mission is to enhance physical and mental health, unlocking peak human health, cognitive function, and physical performance. Get 10% off your order with the code BITCOINAUDIBLE. (Link: https://getchroma.co/?ref=BitcoinA…
