Stephan Livera Podcast

Stephan Livera

Join Stephan as he interviews the sharpest economic and technical minds in Bitcoin & Austrian Economics to help you understand how money is changing and evolving. Leading names in the world of Bitcoin join the show to share their insights, whether they are developers, CEOs, economists, authors, analysts and more. read less

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Silent Payments: A Bitcoin username? With Josibake and Ruben Somsen SLP579

Silent Payments: A Bitcoin username? With Josibake and Ruben Somsen SLP579

Silent Payments is a new approach to improving privacy and useability of Bitcoin. Imagine not needing to manually create new addresses? Josibake and Ruben Somsen join me to discuss some of the ins and outs of Silent Payments. We discuss: Silent Payments overview Contrast with other techniques such as BIP47 Light client support Stopping address re use Base layer privacy discussion Links: X: @josibake X: @SomsenRuben BIP: Silent Payments Tracking progress in Bitcoin Core/libsecp256k1 Informational website from sethforprivacy : Privacy-preserving static addresses for Bitcoin Sponsors: Swan.com (code LIVERA) CoinKite.com (code LIVERA) Mempool.space Stephan Livera links: Follow me on X: @stephanlivera Subscribe to the podcast Subscribe to Substack Timestamps: (00:00) - Intro (01:01) - Overview of Silent Payments (SP) (03:15) - History of the SP idea & contrast with other methods Add more (14:36) - Current status of SP development & adoption (17:49) - Testing light clients for SP (21:50) - The Silent Payment Experience (26:31) - Light client support (31:20) - What is a light client? (38:05) - Sponsors (41:16) - Spend Key & Scan Key (42:37) - XPUB vs. Silent Payments (44:42) - Reducing address re-use with SP (49:29) - Labeling with Silent Payments (53:14) - Ease of use and compatibility with Lightning (57:03) - Overcoming the ‘silver bullet’ mindset (01:10:50) - Composability with Silent Payments (01:12:46) - Silent Payments summary (01:14:06) - Closing Thoughts

Episodes

Silent Payments: A Bitcoin username? With Josibake and Ruben Somsen SLP579

Silent Payments: A Bitcoin username? With Josibake and Ruben Somsen SLP579

Silent Payments is a new approach to improving privacy and useability of Bitcoin. Imagine not needing to manually create new addresses? Josibake and Ruben Somsen join me to discuss some of the ins and outs of Silent Payments. We discuss: Silent Payments overview Contrast with other techniques such as BIP47 Light client support Stopping address re use Base layer privacy discussion Links: X: @josibake X: @SomsenRuben BIP: Silent Payments Tracking progress in Bitcoin Core/libsecp256k1 Informational website from sethforprivacy : Privacy-preserving static addresses for Bitcoin Sponsors: Swan.com (code LIVERA) CoinKite.com (code LIVERA) Mempool.space Stephan Livera links: Follow me on X: @stephanlivera Subscribe to the podcast Subscribe to Substack Timestamps: (00:00) - Intro (01:01) - Overview of Silent Payments (SP) (03:15) - History of the SP idea & contrast with other methods Add more (14:36) - Current status of SP development & adoption (17:49) - Testing light clients for SP (21:50) - The Silent Payment Experience (26:31) - Light client support (31:20) - What is a light client? (38:05) - Sponsors (41:16) - Spend Key & Scan Key (42:37) - XPUB vs. Silent Payments (44:42) - Reducing address re-use with SP (49:29) - Labeling with Silent Payments (53:14) - Ease of use and compatibility with Lightning (57:03) - Overcoming the ‘silver bullet’ mindset (01:10:50) - Composability with Silent Payments (01:12:46) - Silent Payments summary (01:14:06) - Closing Thoughts

Bitaxe: The Open Source Bitcoin Miner with Skot - SLP578

Bitaxe: The Open Source Bitcoin Miner with Skot - SLP578

Skot joins me to talk about his project to bring affordable, energy efficient, open source mining to home miners. We discuss: The current state of open source in bitcoin mining Bitaxe overview Why do people do this? Price and how to set one up Mining pools Decentralisation Links: X: @skot9000 Site: Bitaxe.org Sponsors: Swan.com (code LIVERA) CoinKite.com (code LIVERA) Mempool.space Nomadcapitalist.com/apply Stephan Livera links: Follow me on X: @stephanlivera Subscribe to the podcast Subscribe to Substack

Great Script Restoration with Rusty Russell SLP577

Great Script Restoration with Rusty Russell SLP577

Rusty Russell rejoins me on the show to talk about a new idea for a bitcoin soft fork that hopefully avoids some of the ‘horse trading’ dynamic that existed amongst other proposals. Listen in to learn more about the different paradigm that Rusty introduces here, so that developers can build more functionality and efficiency in, hopefully so that more people can use Bitcoin in self-custody. Bitcoin Script background GSR overview GSR benefits What is varops Contrast with APO or LNHANCE? Will it enable shitcoins and spam? Relevant previous episodes: SLP565 Great Consensus Clean up, MEVil and LN isn’t dead – Steve Lee and Matt Corallo SLP573 A Shift in Bitcoin Developer Thought? with Brandon Black (aka reardencode) Links: Rusty’s BTC plus plus talk on GSR https://x.com/rusty_twit Sponsors: Swan.com (code LIVERA) CoinKite.com (code LIVERA) Mempool.space Stephan Livera links: Follow me on X: @stephanlivera Subscribe to the podcast Subscribe to Substack

Payjoin Dev Kit for Bitcoin Privacy - Dan Gould SLP576

Payjoin Dev Kit for Bitcoin Privacy - Dan Gould SLP576

Dan Gould of the PayJoin Dev Kit (sponsored by Spiral and Opensats) joins me to discuss how Bitcoin privacy could be improved with more PayJoin adoption. What’s more, it might also benefit users in consolidating their wallets or potentially even fee savings. We discuss how this could be integrated into more bitcoin wallets. What is a PayJoin?How it helps privacyOther benefits in efficiencyDownsides and trade offsChanges with the v2 PayJoin protocolPayJoin DirectoryPayjoin Dev Kit Links: X: @bitgould X: @payjoindevkitSite: PayjoinDevKit.org Site: Payjoin.org Sponsors: Swan.com (code LIVERA)CoinKite.com (code LIVERA)Mempool.space Stephan Livera links: Follow me on X: @stephanliveraSubscribe to the podcastSubscribe to Substack

Core Scientific Exits Bankruptcy with Adam Sullivan SLP575

Core Scientific Exits Bankruptcy with Adam Sullivan SLP575

Adam Sullivan, CEO of Core Scientific joins me today as we chat about: Going through bankruptcy as a Bitcoin minerDebt financingRole of capital structure in miningWhat makes Core Scientific different?Centralisation of mining poolsFee dynamics going forward2025 outlook on Mining Links: X: @_Adam_Sullivan1Core Scientific: Corescientific.com Sponsors: Swan.com (code LIVERA)CoinKite.com (code LIVERA)Mempool.space Stephan Livera links: Follow me on X: @stephanliveraSubscribe to the podcastSubscribe to Substack

Bitcoin Mining and Capital Structure with Rapha Zagury SLP574

Bitcoin Mining and Capital Structure with Rapha Zagury SLP574

Rapha Zagury, CIO of Swan and Head of Swan Mining rejoins me on the show to talk about a range of topics, from Brazil’s flooding, Bitcoin Mining, Capital Structure, as well as share some insights on speaking to TradFi professionals about Bitcoin. Links: X: @alphaazeta Site: Swan.comSite: Nakamotoportfolio.comNakamoto Gauntlet: The Nakamoto Portfolio Gauntlet Sponsors: Swan.com (code LIVERA)CoinKite.com (code LIVERA)Mempool.space Stephan Livera links: Follow me on X: @stephanliveraSubscribe to the podcastSubscribe to Substack

A Shift in Bitcoin Developer Thought? with Brandon Black (aka reardencode) SLP573

A Shift in Bitcoin Developer Thought? with Brandon Black (aka reardencode) SLP573

As you may know, at the recent Bitcoin++ conference, there was a ‘meeting of the minds’ and Brandon Black aka reardencode rejoins me on the show to discuss. We talk about: The state of various covenant proposalsWhat has shifted now in thinkingThe promise of Great Script RestorationCould it have bad side effects? Doing good engineering Links: X: @reardencode Bitcoin++: btcplusplus.dev Rusty’s talk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rSp8918HLnA Sponsors: Swan.com (code LIVERA)CoinKite.com (code LIVERA)Mempool.space Stephan Livera links: Follow me on X: @stephanliveraSubscribe to the podcastSubscribe to Substack

Bitcoiners, Don’t Sleep on Nostr! - Miljan SLP572

Bitcoiners, Don’t Sleep on Nostr! - Miljan SLP572

Miljan from Primal joins me to talk about why Bitcoiners should not sleep on Nostr. We chat: Why he’s bullish on nostrWhat the experience is like nowadaysNetwork effects for creators and devsDealing with spam and sybilWhy Openness is the killer feature Links: X: @mbraticevicSite: Primal.netMiljan’s Nostr npub: npub16c0nh3dnadzqpm76uctf5hqhe2lny344zsmpm6feee9p5rdxaa9q586nvrMiljan’s Nostr: miljan@primal.net Sponsors: Swan.com (code LIVERA)CoinKite.com (code LIVERA)Mempool.spaceNomadcapitalist.com/apply Stephan Livera links: Follow me on X: @stephanliveraSubscribe to the podcastSubscribe to Substack

What’s happening with JPY? - Peruvian Bull SLP571

What’s happening with JPY? - Peruvian Bull SLP571

Peruvian Bull, a macro writer and commentator joins me to explain what’s happening with the Japanese economy and how it all ties in with the dollar end game. We discuss: The impossible trinity for JapanJapanese government debtThe global JPY carry tradeThe impact on the US financial system Links: X: @peruvian_bullNostr: npub1xwmyzp64xx03kw9ecd7fzsj3e9dgwah6an0rdng0cc6ux4dswwjs28pyycNewsletter: https://substack.com/@peruvianbull Sponsors: Swan.com (code LIVERA)CoinKite.com (code LIVERA)Mempool.space Stephan Livera links: Follow me on X: @stephanliveraSubscribe to the podcastSubscribe to Substack

Then They Fight You? - Parker Lewis SLP570

Then They Fight You? - Parker Lewis SLP570

Parker Lewis of Zaprite rejoins me on the show to discuss recent updates in the space and what’s happening with Zaprite and merchant adoption. “Then they fight you” ?Chilling EffectZapriteGetting Bitcoin Payment Rails ReadyGradually, Then SuddenlyWhy hope should not be lost Links: X: @parkeralewisSite: Zaprite.com Get Parker’s Book: thesifhouse.com Sponsors: Swan.com (code LIVERA)CoinKite.com (code LIVERA)Mempool.space Stephan Livera links: Follow me on X: @stephanliveraSubscribe to the podcastSubscribe to Substack

Why Bitcoin Should Not Ossify - Steve Lee SLP569

Why Bitcoin Should Not Ossify - Steve Lee SLP569

A lot of people talk about Bitcoin Ossification. Today Steve Lee, Lead @ Spiral rejoins me to expand on why this is the wrong idea. We also talk about the recent situation with bitcoin mining pool centralisation and what is driving it. Links: X: @moneyball AJ Town’s ‘Slow and Steady’ post mentioned: Earlier episode also mentioned: SLP433 : v2 P2P Transport Protocol for Bitcoin (BIP324) Sponsors: Swan.com (code LIVERA)CoinKite.com (code LIVERA)Mempool.space Stephan Livera links: Follow me on X: @stephanliveraSubscribe to the podcastSubscribe to Substack

The System You Give Your Energy To - Jeff Booth SLP568

The System You Give Your Energy To - Jeff Booth SLP568

Jeff Booth, author, entrepreneur and founding partner of Ego Death Capital rejoins me on the show to talk about his bitcoin advocacy at various levels: Speaking to politicians about bitcoinThe system you give energy to“Staying and fighting” in Canada vs supporting alternatives e.g. Madeira‘Coincidental’ attack on Bitcoin? Links: X: @JeffBoothnostr: npub1s05p3ha7en49dv8429tkk07nnfa9pcwczkf5x5qrdraqshxdje9sq6eyheSite: Ego Death Capital Sponsors: Swan.com (code LIVERA)CoinKite.com (code LIVERA)Mempool.spaceNomadcapitalist.com/live Stephan Livera links: Follow me on X: @stephanliveraSubscribe to the podcastSubscribe to Substack

Bitcoin and Investing with Preston Pysh SLP567

Bitcoin and Investing with Preston Pysh SLP567

How do you think about investing as a bitcoiner? Preston Pysh of TIP rejoins me on the show to talk about a range of related ideas: HODL vs invest in companiesMicrostrategy and other public companiesVC and early stage investmentRealistic investment hurdle ratesTechnical realities as bitcoin grows Links: X: @PrestonPyshTIP: theinvestorspodcast.comnostr: npub1s5yq6wadwrxde4lhfs56gn64hwzuhnfa6r9mj476r5s4hkunzgzqrs6q7z Sponsors: Swan.com (code LIVERA)CoinKite.com (code LIVERA)Mempool.spaceNomadcapitalist.com/live Stephan Livera links: Follow me on X: @stephanliveraSubscribe to the podcastSubscribe to Substack

The cost to hack bitcoin hardware wallets with Dmitry Nedospasov SLP566

The cost to hack bitcoin hardware wallets with Dmitry Nedospasov SLP566

Dmitry Nedospasov is a PhD in Chip Security, also known for his hardware wallet exploits in 2018 with the wallet.fail talk. Dmitry joins me to talk about hardware security in the world of bitcoin and how it compares with hardware chip security in other domains. We discuss: The 2018 wallet.fail talkBitcoin compared with other industriesRealistic hardware wallet attack typesThe cost of attacking a hardware deviceBackups and Shamir’s Secret Sharing Links: X: @nedosLinkedIn: Dmitry NedospasovSite: Keylabs.io Telegram: https://t.me/nedoswallet.fail talk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y1OBIGslgGMRecoverylabs.io Sponsors: Swan.com (code LIVERA)CoinKite.com (code LIVERA)Mempool.space Stephan Livera links: Follow me on X: @stephanliveraSubscribe to the podcastSubscribe to Substack

Great Consensus Clean up, MEVil and LN isn’t dead - Steve Lee and Matt Corallo SLP565

Great Consensus Clean up, MEVil and LN isn’t dead - Steve Lee and Matt Corallo SLP565

Steve Lee and Matt Corallo of Spiral rejoin me on the show to talk about a range of topics. Firstly we discuss the Great Consensus Clean Up which relates to fixing some long standing bugs in Bitcoin. Secondly we talk about MEV and why it’s the wrong term, instead we should be talking about MEVil and the implications for Bitcoin miner centralisation. Finally we address the rumours of Lightning Network being dead or not useful. Links: X: @moneyballX: @TheBlueMatt BlueMatt's Blog: Stop Calling It MEVBIP Proposal: The Great Consensus CleanupDelving post on Great Consensus Clean up RevivalSteve’s X thread on GCC: https://twitter.com/moneyball/status/1760839436617875485 Sponsors: Swan.com (code LIVERA)CoinKite.com (code LIVERA)Mempool.space Stephan Livera links: Follow me on X: @stephanliveraSubscribe to the podcastSubscribe to Substack

Going Where You’re Treated Best and Nomad Capitalist Live 2024 with Andrew Henderson SLP564

Going Where You’re Treated Best and Nomad Capitalist Live 2024 with Andrew Henderson SLP564

Andrew Henderson rejoins me to discuss his story renouncing US citizenship, and whether the price was worth it. We discuss whether you should “stay and fight” as well as considerations relevant for Bitcoiners on pursuing their options in other countries. We also discuss Nomad Capitalist Live 2024, coming in KL Malaysia. Listen in to learn and stay up to date on global tax, investing and lifestyle strategies. Links: X: @nomadcapitalist Sponsors: Swan.com (code LIVERA)CoinKite.com (code LIVERA)Mempool.spaceNomadcapitalist.com/live Stephan Livera links: Follow me on X: @stephanliveraSubscribe to the podcastSubscribe to Substack

Revault, Liana, self custody and bitcoin inheritance with Kevin Loaec SLP563

Revault, Liana, self custody and bitcoin inheritance with Kevin Loaec SLP563

Kevin Loaec of wizardsardine joins me to talk about bitcoin security and vaults. We get into a discussion about: Vaults and what’s possible today Timelocking and using them as part of self custodyInheritance scenariosBusiness use casesCovenant soft forks Links: X: @KLoaecX: @WizardsardineX: @revaultdevSite: Wizardsardine Sponsors: Swan.com (code LIVERA)CoinKite.com (code LIVERA)Mempool.space Stephan Livera links: Follow me on X: @stephanliveraSubscribe to the podcastSubscribe to Substack Chapters: 00:00 - Intro02:07 - Revault08:07 - Liana14:48 - Overview of Liana and Supported Hardware Wallets25:17 - Managing Time Locks in Liana: Rotating Coins and Duration29:47 - Coinkite.com30:47 - Swan.com32:09 - Mempool.space33:10 - Self-Custody with Liana37:26 - Understanding Revault and Liana44:56 - Exploring Decaying and Expanding Multi-Signature49:15 - RBF and CPFP in Liana Transactions56:07 - Transaction Size in Liana01:00:42 - The Debate on Covenants01:05:37 - Enhancing Organization Security with Cosigners01:09:30 - The Future of Self-Custody

Good Design Creates Trust - Bitcoin Design with Christoph Ono and Mogashni Naidoo SLP562

Good Design Creates Trust - Bitcoin Design with Christoph Ono and Mogashni Naidoo SLP562

Have you wondered about the role design and UX plays in Bitcoin apps? Christoph and Mogashni join me from the Bitcoin Design Community to share insights on: What most people are getting wrong about designHow you can leverage design principles in your bitcoin productBitcoin specific design challengesTypes of userTools available by the Bitcoin Design community Links: Site: Bitcoin.designSite: bitcoindesignfoundation.orgX: @MogashniNaidooX: @GBKS Sponsors: Swan.com (code LIVERA)CoinKite.com (code LIVERA)Mempool.space Stephan Livera links: Follow me on X: @stephanliveraSubscribe to the podcastSubscribe to Substack Chapters: 00:00 - Introduction and Background03:31 - The Importance of Design in Bitcoin Applications10:10 - The Bitcoin Design Community12:34 - Common Mistakes in Bitcoin App Design20:10 - Mempool.space20:56 - Coinkite.com25:14 - Embracing Creativity and Unique Design in Bitcoin29:28 - Introduction to User Experience Design in Bitcoin33:34 - Working with Bitcoin Apps and Projects38:56 - Swan.com39:14 - Simplifying the User Experience in Bitcoin43:26 - Designing for Complexity in Bitcoin45:09 - Navigating Competing Standards in Bitcoin Design46:29 - The Value of UX Research in Bitcoin49:48 - Practical Advice for Builders and Developers in Bitcoin Design54:57 - Find Out More 56:40 - Closing Thoughts

US Government Fiscal Collapse Accelerates with Peter St Onge SLP561

US Government Fiscal Collapse Accelerates with Peter St Onge SLP561

Peter St Onge rejoins me on the show to share some insight into how bad the US government fiscal situation is getting. We talk: How much debt there is and what’s next hereThe impact on the peopleJapanese interest rates risingJapanese economic impactsAI and where the jobs will come fromBitcoin outlook Links: X: @profstongeSite: Profstonge.com Sponsors: Swan.com (code LIVERA)CoinKite.com (code LIVERA)Mempool.spaceNomadcapitalist.com Stephan Livera links: Follow me on X: @stephanliveraSubscribe to the podcastSubscribe to Substack

Tracking the new Bitcoin ETFs with Thomas Fahrer SLP560

Tracking the new Bitcoin ETFs with Thomas Fahrer SLP560

Thomas Fahrer, co-founder of Apollo joins me to talk about the Bitcoin ETFs. We talk: Analysing the Bitcoin ETFsWhat further institutional adoption looks likeHow much capital could flow into BitcoinThe Bitcoin FOMO scenarioDisagreements on the power law modelMSTR and Bitcoin Links: X: @thomas_fahrer Site: Heyapollo.com Sponsors: Swan.com (code LIVERA)CoinKite.com (code LIVERA)Mempool.space Stephan Livera links: Follow me on X: @stephanliveraSubscribe to the podcastSubscribe to Substack Chapters: 00:00 - Introduction and Background03:02 - The Significance of Bitcoin ETFs13:33 - Rebalancing and Volatility21:19 - Grayscale's Declining Bitcoin Holdings25:41 - Swan.com27:00 - Mempool.space27:45 - Coinkite.com33:35 - Possible Motivations for Grayscale's Actions34:03 - Successful ETF Launch and Consistent Demand37:23 - Bitcoin Price Rise and Demand - Supply Dynamics39:44 - Volatility and Orderly Transition41:07 - Bitcoin's Historical Price Patterns44:05 - Flaws in Power Law Model45:05 - Bitcoin's Potential to Replace Traditional Assets46:41 - Flaws in Power Law Model and Fiat Currencies50:11 - Importance of Fundamental Analysis51:38 - Bitcoin's Bullish Case and Fundamental Properties58:51 - Closing Thoughts