Best Vlad Costea Podcasts (2025)

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S16 E24: Vitalik Buterin on the Future of Bitcoin & Ethereum 3:02:17

6d ago3:02:17

3:02:17

Vitalik Buterin is the creator of Ethereum, but he's also a true Bitcoin maximalist. In this episode, Vitalik tells his story as a bitcoiner, explains why he built Ethereum, and makes use of his knowledge to predict the future of the two networks.Time stamps:Introducing Vitalik (00:01:00) Vitalik's Early Involvement with Bitcoin (00:02:22) Writing …

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S16 E23: James O'Beirne on Bitcoin Development (CTV, CFSF & Big Blocks) 2:25:17

7d ago2:25:17

2:25:17

James O'Beirne is a Bitcoin developer who's not afraid to support unpopular improvement proposals: recently, he spoke about increasing the block size on the stage of OP_NEXT. He also works on CTV & CSFS, and tends to favor technical data over clout.Time stamps: 00:00:52 - Introducing James O'Beirne 00:02:00 - James O'Beirne's Current Bitcoin Core C…

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S16 E22: J-Dog on Counterparty & Bitcoin Tokens 2:07:36

9d ago2:07:36

2:07:36

J-Dog is the former maintainer of Bitcoin's Counterparty protocol – a role which he fulfilled for about 8 years. Under his stewardship, XCP witnessed the creation of legendary collections such as Spells of Genesis, Rare Pepes, and Fake Rares – even my Bitcoin Heads and Leftist Tears were created when he was the lead developer and he provided some u…

1
S16 E21: Filip Baturan on Tanari, Citrea & DeFi on Bitcoin 1:05:31

17d ago1:05:31

1:05:31

Filip Baturan is the CEO of Tanari – a decentralized finance application suite that's built on top of Citrea. With it, bitcoiners can enjoy the features and user experience from banking applications such as Revolut... but within a self-custodial and sovereign environment, where the user sets the rules. The discussion centers around Tanari's vision …

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S16 E20: Felix Billbert on Wave Space & Spending Bitcoin 1:35:41

21d ago1:35:41

1:35:41

Felix Billbert is the Chief Maximalist at Wave Space: a European company which specializes in making bitcoin easy to spend. They offer a Visa debit card, a swapping service for BTC/EUR pair, Lightning network support... all of which is wrapped inside a non-custodial environment.The conversation explores the challenges of building a Bitcoin business…

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S16 E19: Daniel Krawisz on Bitcoin & Narcissism 4:09:28

22d ago4:09:28

4:09:28

In 2014, Daniel Krawisz was one of the most prolific Bitcoin writers: he published some excellent articles with the Nakamoto Institute, and most of them are still relevant. Today, he prefers BSV and believes that Craig Wright is Satoshi. What changed?Time stamps:Time stamps:00:00:50 - Introducing Daniel Krawisz00:02:40 - Bitcoin Takeover00:05:30 - …

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S16 E18: Rockstar Dev & Max Hillebrand on Privacy 3:40:31

24d ago3:40:31

3:40:31

Privacy has had a couple of rough years: companies & protocols shut down, developers got arrested, governments issued new regulations... regardless, Rockstar Dev & Max Hillebrand join the show to discuss privacy & open source tools for sovereignty.By Vlad Costea

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S16 E17: Ben Arc on LNBits v1 & The State of Lightning Network 7:23:42

27d ago7:23:42

7:23:42

Ben Arc is the creator of LNBits: a modular Lightning network wallet which, after 5 years of development, has just launched version 1. To celebrate this remarkable milestone, ”the CEO of Nostr” joins the show to talk about everything interesting in Bitcoin.Time stamps:00:00:53 - Introducing Ben Arc 00:01:08 - Ben Arc and LNBits V1 00:02:23 - LNBits…

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S16 E16: Andreas Brekken on SideShift & Bitcoin Moderation 1:18:43

1M ago1:18:43

1:18:43

Andreas Brekken is best known for creating SideShift.ai and acting as the CEO of Shitcoin.com. In this episode, he talks about his views on Bitcoin development, the emergence of DeFi, and the reasons why he considers cryptocurrencies superior to fiat.Time stamps: Introducing Andreas Brekken (00:00:51)The Sam Bankman-Fried Interview on Shitcoin.com …

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S16 E15: Marko Tarman on NiceHash & Proof of Work Mining 1:56:50

1M ago1:56:50

1:56:50

Marko Tarman has been mining Bitcoin since 2012 – and today, he works as Lead Mining Manager at NiceHash. In this episode, we talk about the current trends in Proof of Work mining and the commodification of hash rate.By Vlad Costea

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S16 E14: Adam Krellenstein on Counterparty & Bitcoin Tokens 1:28:57

2M ago1:28:57

1:28:57

Adam Krellenstein is one of the co-founders of Counterparty and the current maintainer of the protocol. In this episode, he talks about his plan to improve Bitcoin native tokens and why you should consider giving XCP a chance.Time stamps:Introducing Adam Krellenstein (00:00:50)Counterparty’s Unique Features (00:01:30)Historical Significance of Coun…

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S16 E13: Corbin Fraser on Bitcoin.com & BTC vs BCH 2:35:15

2M ago2:35:15

2:35:15

Corbin Fraser is the new CEO of Bitcoin.com. In this episode, he talks about the Scaling Wars, his perspective as a BCH advocate, and the lessons the market taught him over the years. Also, he explains why the news section of Bitcoin.com improved.Introducing Corbin Fraser (00:00:50)Bitcoin.com’s Evolution (00:01:52)Support for Multiple Cryptocurren…

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S16 E12: Martti Malmi on Bitcoin in 2009 & Satoshi Nakamoto 1:05:05

2M ago1:05:05

1:05:05

Martti Malmi, aka Sirius, was Satoshi Nakamoto's closest collaborator between 2009 and 2010. In this episode, he reminisces about the early days of Bitcoin, but also describes his recent adventures with Nostr & the Lightning Network.Time stamps:Introducing Martti (00:00:48)Martti's Work on Nostr (00:02:03)Nostr's Origins and Purpose (00:03:31)Self-…

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S16 E11: Paul Sztorc on Roger Ver 3:45:44

2M ago3:45:44

3:45:44

Despite your bad memories from the Block Size war, you should support Roger Ver's campaign for clemency – or at least this is what Layer Two Labs CEO Paul Sztorc thinks you should do. In this episode, we discuss why Roger deserves to stay free.Time stamps:Introducing Paul Sztorc (00:00:54)The host welcomes listeners and introduces guest Paul Sztorc…

1
S16 E10: Eric Voskuil & John Carvalho on Bitcoin & Austrian Economics 8:21:14

2M ago8:21:14

8:21:14

In recent years, Bitcoin has undergone a major culture shift which promotes stagnation, complacency & simping to politicians over maximizing the utility of the money. Eric Voskuil & John Carvalho join the show to remind everyone what the mission really is.State of Bitcoin - [00:01:17]Bitcoin Maximalism - [00:01:32]Bitcoin as a Ponzi Scheme - [00:02…

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S16 E9: Saunter on Alby & Lightning Network Adoption 1:48:48

3M ago1:48:48

1:48:48

Saunter is a designer and bitcoin advocate who works at Alby: one of the most popular Lightning network wallets. In this episode, he describes his experiences with onboarding new users and increasing adoption around the world.Time stamps: Introducing Saunter (00:00:51)Evolution of Alby Wallet (00:01:38)Functionalities of the Alby Wallet (00:02:26)L…

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S16 E8: Alex Romanov on Beam, MimbleWimble & Privacy 1:58:29

3M ago1:58:29

1:58:29

Launched on January 3rd 2019, a whole decade after Bitcoin, Beam is the first MimbleWimble implementation to hit the markets. Unlike its smiley cousin Grin, Beam is organized more like a start-up, was more efficient in raising VC funding, and appears to focus more on smart contracts and interoperability with other chains.In this episode, Beam CTO A…

1
S16 E7: Michael Parenti (Exiled Surfer) on Bitcoin Politics & Rock N Roll 8:10:11

3M ago8:10:11

8:10:11

The life of Michael Parenti is truly extraordinary, as he witnessed two significant cultural movements that changed the word. Growing up in Malibu, he went to school with the likes of Sean Penn and Charlie Sheen, met a young Madonna before she was an international star, hung out in Bob Dylan's house, and saw live acts like Nirvana and Red Hot Chill…

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S16 E6: Super Testnet on Monero vs Lightning Network Privacy 2:29:39

3M ago2:29:39

2:29:39

Bitcoin developer Super Testnet argues that the Lightning Network is more private – and therefore better suited for darknet markets than Monero. In this episode, he breaks down all the nuances involved and defines good financial privacy.Time stamps:Introducing Super Testnet (00:00:48)Lightning on Dark Web Markets (00:01:08)Lightning Network Privacy…

1
S15 E5: Reuben Yap on Firo & ZK Privacy 4:12:39

3M ago4:12:39

4:12:39

Reuben Yap is one of the co-founders of Firo (previously Zcoin): an implementation of the Zerocoin paper from 2013, which was first proposed as a Bitcoin soft fork to improve the network's privacy via Zero Knowledge proofs.Time stamps:Introducing Reuben Yap (00:00:48)Reuben's Article on Tribalism (00:01:35)History of Privacy Proposals Zero Coin & Z…

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S16 E4: John Light on ZK Tech to Scale Bitcoin & Make It Private 1:43:40

4M ago1:43:40

1:43:40

John Light is a researcher who specializes in bringing Zero Knowledge cryptography to supplement Bitcoin's limitations in scalability & privacy. With ZK rollups, Bitcoin stands a better chance to onboard 8 billion people onto trust-minimized layer 2s.Time stamps:Introducing John Light (00:00:50)John's Work at Alpen Labs (00:01:35)Strata: A New zk O…

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S16 E3: Charlie Shrem & DG Yoda on Digital Gold (DGD) 1:50:50

4M ago1:50:50

1:50:50

Bitcoin OG Charlie Shrem is now the chief evangelist of a project called Digital Gold (DGD). In this episode, I ask him and his business partner Digital Gold Yoda all the important questions about the legitimacy of their new cryptocurrency.Time stamps:Introducing Charlie Shrem & Digital Gold Jedi (00:00:48)Is Charlie Still Bullish on Bitcoin? (00:0…

1
S16 E2: Liam Eagen on Crypto(graphy) Research & Innovation 2:03:55

4M ago2:03:55

2:03:55

Time stamps:Introducing Liam (00:00:25)Shielded Client-Side Validation (00:01:53)Challenges in Bitcoin Development (00:05:36)The Soft Fork Independence of Shielded CSV (00:06:31)Introduction to OP_CAT (00:06:31)Opinions on Bitcoin Covenant Proposals (00:07:06)Integer Arithmetic in Bitcoin (00:09:26)Alpen Labs and Their Projects (00:12:23)Optimistic…

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S16 E1: Mike Belshe on BitGo, Self Custody & The Future of Bitcoin 1:59:56

4M ago1:59:56

1:59:56

Mike Belshe is the co-founder and CEO of BitGo. As a Bitcoin and internet pioneer, he has witnessed some of the most significant phenomena and can draw some really interesting parallels between the two complementary realms.Time stamps:Introducing Mike Belshe (00:00:42)Mike Belshe's Background (00:01:58)Self-Custody vs. Institutional Custody (00:02:…

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S15 E71: Amir Taaki on Bitcoin & DarkFi 7:07:54

4M ago7:07:54

7:07:54

Time stamps:Introducing Amir (00:00:47)Reflections on Bitcoin Privacy (00:01:44)Layer 2 Solutions Discussion (00:02:36)Challenges of Layer 2 Usability (00:04:46)Interest in Layer 2 Proposals (00:05:51)Simplicity in Opcode Development (00:06:54)Concerns Over Opcode Usage (00:08:03)Historical Context of Bitcoin's Scripting Language (00:09:00)Limitati…

1
S15 E70: Jeff Garzik on Hemi & Bitcoin Development 1:04:36

5M ago1:04:36

1:04:36

Time Stamps:Jeff Garzik’s Contributions (00:00:47)Overview of Hemi (00:02:32)Scaling Bitcoin (00:03:11)Challenges with Current Solutions (00:04:17)Lightning Network Use Cases (00:05:04)Goals of Hemi (00:05:56)Integration with Bitcoin (00:07:19)History of Open Source Software (00:08:20)Security and Trust in Established Technologies (00:10:01)Satoshi…

1
S15 E69: Zach Herbert on Passport Prime by Foundation Devices 2:13:38

5M ago2:13:38

2:13:38

Time stamps:Announcing the New Passport Prime (00:01:49)Competitive Landscape of Hardware Wallets (00:03:17)The Challenge to Replace Trezor (00:03:17)Introduction of the Passport Prime (00:05:25)Features of the Passport Prime (00:06:54)Expanding Digital Security (00:08:07)Comparison to Steve Jobs' Presentation (00:08:34)Open Source Platform Develop…

1
S15 E68: Paul Sztorc on Activating Drivechains via CUSF (Core Untouched Soft Fork) 2:10:46

5M ago2:10:46

2:10:46

Time stamps:Introducing Paul… again! (00:00:46)Core Untouched Soft Work (00:01:56)Peter Todd's Criticism (00:02:19)Debate on Soft Forks (00:04:44)Luke Dash Jr.'s Perspective (00:05:00)SPV Wallets and Full Nodes (00:08:51)Data Availability Issues (00:12:10)Neutrino and Privacy (00:14:16)Dandelion++ Proposal (00:17:05)Quality of Bitcoin Core Developm…

1
S15 E67: Rocelo Lopes on Self Custody, Tether Truth & Generational Bitcoin 1:02:24

5M ago1:02:24

1:02:24

Time stamps:Welcome to the Gymcast! (00:00:51)Rocelo's Introduction (00:01:47)First Bitcoin Transaction (00:02:51)Buying Bitcoin in Tokyo (00:03:17)Meeting Satoshi Nakamoto? (00:05:13)Importance of Physical Fitness for HODLing (00:06:51)Transition from Bitcoin Skeptic to Miner (00:08:22)Future of Bitcoin Mining (00:09:35)From Bitcoin Enthusiast to …

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S15 E66: Jameson Lopp on Michael Saylor, Bitcoin Ossification & Paranoid Crypto Anarchism 1:01:40

6M ago1:01:40

1:01:40

Time stamps:Introduction (00:00:56)Michael Saylor & Paranoid Crypto Anarchy (00:01:20)Bitcoin Block Size Discussion (00:03:10)Ossification of Bitcoin (00:04:09)Challenges of Second Layer Solutions (00:05:31)Botanics and Spider Chain (00:08:15)Practicality of Innovations (00:09:44)State of the Lightning Network (00:10:14)Liquidity Management in Ligh…

1
S15 E65: Bitcoin Covenants Without Soft Forks with Avihu M. Levy of StarkWare 44:10

6M ago44:10

44:10

The recent ColliderScript research paper is a game changer: it enables Bitcoin covenants at a high cost, but without requiring any soft fork. It's the most remarkable breakthrough since BitVM and co-author Avihu M. Levy is here to explain how it works!Time stamps:Introduction (00:00:45)Avihu M. Levy's Background in Bitcoin (00:02:25)Covenants in Bi…

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S15 E64: David A. Johnston on Bitcoin 2.0 & Decentralized AI 2:18:45

6M ago2:18:45

2:18:45

Time stamps:Introducing David A. Johnston (00:00:51)David's Bitcoin Journey (00:02:34)Bitcoin 2.0 Discussion (00:02:54)Mastercoin and ICOs (00:05:31)Community Reactions to Digital Assets (00:06:31)Bitcoin's Ideological Divide (00:07:46)The Bitcoin 2.0 Panel (00:09:00)Emergence of Ethereum (00:09:30)Irreconcilable Differences (00:10:08)Freedom Maxim…

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S15 E63: David Bailey on Bitcoin & Trump 1:47:27

6M ago1:47:27

1:47:27

Time stamps:Introduction (00:00:47)David's Background and Media Interest (00:02:27)Transition to Trump Support (00:03:37)Historic Casascius Bitcoin Moment (00:04:36)Conference Tensions (00:06:02)Trump's Speech and Bitcoin (00:09:21)Missed Opportunities with Elon (00:11:42)Trump's Positive Reception (00:12:47)Understanding the Bitcoin Transition Tea…

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S15 E62: Josh Swihart & Kris Nuttycombe on Zcash & Privacy 1:37:22

6M ago1:37:22

1:37:22

Time stamps:Introducting Josh & Chris (00:00:50)Criticism of Zcash (00:01:44)Origins of Zero-Knowledge Proofs (00:02:18)Technological Challenges (00:04:00)Need for Internet Cash (00:05:45)Radicalization & Maximalism (00:07:01)Evolution of Zcash Addresses (00:08:19)Transparent vs. Shielded Addresses (00:09:00)Misconceptions About Transparent Address…

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Martha Bueno 1:43:26

6M ago1:43:26

1:43:26

Martha Bueno joins us on the Livestream and we cover a lot; Roger Ver, Ross Ulbricht, the Libertarian party, Marijuana, stem cells, cannabinoids, and circumcision. She has a lot to say and we're here for it. Follow her on Twitter @BuenoForMiami to get the latest from her and support her various causes.…

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S15 E61: Polto & Darko on Self Custody Pro Tips 1:35:18

6M ago1:35:18

1:35:18

Time stamps:Introducing Polto & Darko (00:00:50)Top Hardware Wallets (00:01:33)Trade-offs in Multi-Signature Wallets (00:02:06)Importance of Secure Elements (00:03:25)Passphrase Usage and Security (00:04:37)Confusion Around Passphrases (00:06:06)Backing Up Passphrases (00:07:14)BIP 39 and Passphrase Features (00:08:02)Derivation of Wallet Addresses…

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Litecoin Mining w/Mini Mines 1:17:45

7M ago1:17:45

1:17:45

Nathan Poole from Mini Mines joins us to talk about the business of Litecoin Mining. We talk about the current state and future of mining with Litecoin, Dogecoin, Bellscoin and others. Follow Nathan on Twitter @LitecoinCowboy and see Mini Mines at www.minimines.com Thank you for listening and watching. Follow us on Twitter @LTCUnderground where we …

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S15 E60: Andrey Sabelnikov & Pavel Nikienkov on Zano & Privacy 2:31:54

7M ago2:31:54

2:31:54

Andrey Sabelnikov has a history with the CryptoNote protocol, and even worked under pseudonymous Monero grandfather Nicholas von Saberhagen. Recently, he built Zano with Pavel Nikienkov. It's a protocol for issuing tokens with good privacy.Time Stamps:Introducing Andrey & Pavel (00:00:54)What is Zano? (00:02:46)Hybrid Consensus Mechanism (00:04:50)…

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The Evolution of a Bitcoin Maximalist Pt. 1 w/Vlad Costea 1:06:49

7M ago1:06:49

1:06:49

Part 1 of 2. Vlad Costea; host of the BTC TKVR (Bitcoin Takeover) Podcast joins us for a discussion about Bitcoin's current state, why he is looking at privacy options elsewhere, and what he thinks is the future of Bitcoin and Litecoin. Follow him on Twitter @TheVladCostea Thank you for listening and watching. Follow us on Twitter @LTCUnderground a…

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The Evolution of a Bitcoin Maximalist pt. 2 w/Vlad Costea 1:09:52

7M ago1:09:52

1:09:52

Part 2 of 2. Vlad Costea; host of the BTC TKVR (Bitcoin Takeover) Podcast joins us for a discussion about Bitcoin's current state, why he is looking at privacy options elsewhere, and what he thinks is the future of Bitcoin and Litecoin. Follow him on Twitter @TheVladCostea Thank you for listening and watching. Follow us on Twitter @LTCUnderground a…

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S15 E59: David Burkett on MWEB & Privacy 39:29

7M ago39:29

39:29

MWEB (MimbleWimble Extension Block) is a way to add privacy & extra scalability on a parallel blockchain. First proposed by Andrew Poelstra in 2016, it was quickly forgotten in the Bitcoin world. But thanks to David Burkett, it's now live on Litecoin.Time stamps:Introduction to MWEB and David Burkett (00:00:55)Origins of MWEB (00:01:40)Comparing MW…

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S15 E58: Liam Eagen, Robin Linus & Jonas Nick on Shielded Client Side Validation & Bitcoin Privacy 1:51:48

7M ago1:51:48

1:51:48

Liam Eagen (Alpen Labs), Robin Linus (Zero Sync, BitVM) & Jonas Nick (Blockstream, Taproot) talk about their groundbreaking research paper about Shielded Client-Side Validation – a new way to bring privacy & scalability to Bitcoin.––––––––––––––––––––––––––Time stamps:Introduction (00:00:51)What is Client-Side Validation? (00:02:09)Trade-offs in Cl…

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S15 E57: Orkun Kilic on Citrea, ZK Rollups & Building the Bitcoin Economy 32:51

7M ago32:51

32:51

Just a few days after launching the Citrea testnet, Orkun Kilic joins the Bitcoin Takeover podcast to talk about his team's approach to building zero-knowledge proofs and the ambition to create a BTC-only economy around it.Time stamps:Rollups vs. Sidechains (00:02:02)The Need for Rollups in Bitcoin (00:04:18)Citrea's Unique Approach (00:06:29)Build…

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S15 E56: Prof. Richard Werner on Bitcoin, CBDCs & Banking 51:10

7M ago51:10

51:10

Prof. Richard Werner is best known for proposing quantitative easing while working at the Bank of Japan in the 1990s, and then predicting the 2008 financial crisis. Today, he is a fan of Bitcoin and small community banks.–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––Time stamps:Introducing Prof. Richard Werner (00:00:51)Richard Werner's View on Bitc…

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S15 E55: Jake Yokom-Piatt & Phoenix Green on Bitcoin, Decred & Privacy 2:58:03

8M ago2:58:03

2:58:03

Decred is one of the oldest & most respectable altcoin projects around, which today has base layer privacy by default, a very stable Lightning Network implementation & an excellent DEX. Jake Yokom-Piatt & Phoenix Green explain how it all works.–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––Time stamps:Introducing Jake & Phoenix (00:00:11)Jake's Background (00:…

1
What is VPM? w/Robbie Coleman 1:12:34

8M ago1:12:34

1:12:34

Robbie Coleman walks us through his inspiration for creating VPM and why he believes it is so important to the growth of usage and adoption of Litecoin's newest feature. Follow him @robertfcoleman on X/Twitter

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Bitrefill w/ Matt Ahlborg Part 2 1:09:14

8M ago1:09:14

1:09:14

Diving more into the usage statistics on Bitrefill and deciphering the story about where Litecoin is growing and why. We finish up with a preview of Matt's website; ppq.ai Highly recommend checking out the video as well on our YouTube channel, also titled Litecoin Underground.

1
Bitrefill w/Matt Ahlborg Part 1 53:10

8M ago53:10

53:10

Part one of our interview with Matt Ahlborg with Bitrefill. In the first half of the interview, we discuss MWEB and it's impact on Litecoin and privacy in the crypto space. We also go over some of the statistics from Matt's recent thread. Follow him on Twitter @mattahlborg

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S15 E54: Kruw on Bitcoin Privacy, Blockchain Analysis & Wasabi Wallet 3:05:26

8M ago3:05:26

3:05:26

Kruw runs the most successful Wasabi wallet 2.0 coordinator and is the kind of privacy advocate who actually builds. In this episode, he talks about continuing Wasabi, the shortcomings of Samourai & how blockchain analysis works.Time stamps:Introduction (00:00:39)Recap of Wasabi Wallet Discussions (00:01:33)Samourai Wallet's Decentralization Announ…

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S15 E53: Charlie Shrem on Bitcoin 57:57

8M ago57:57

57:57

Charlie Shrem, best known for being the co-founder & CEO of BitInstant, is still an optimistic bitcoiner. In this episode, he comments on the block size wars, shares his thoughts on ongoing development & promotes his upcoming book about his journey.Time stamps:Introducing Charlie Shrem (00:00:23) How This Interview Happened (00:01:51)The Block Size…

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