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Episodes from Bitcoin Takeover Podcast
S17 E27: Kieran Mesquka on Railgun & Building Privacy
Kieran Mesquka is a contributor to privacy projects, best known for his work on Railgun for Ethereum. He is also an advocate for freedom-maximizing technologies and a connoisseur of Zero Knowledge privacy. In this episode, we talk about what it's like to build shielded pools and anonymization tools in a political landscape that actively fights against it. Time stamps: 00:01:10 - Introducing Kieran Mesquka 00:02:21 - Kieran's Early Crypto Involvement, GPU Mining 00:03:54 - Discovering Bitcoin 00:06:31 - Transition to Ethereum Smart Contracts 00:10:24 - Motivation for Working on Privacy 00:20:33 - Comparing Tornado Cash and Railgun 00:26:30 - Why Tornado Cash Developers Got in Trouble 00:29:10...
S17 E26: Steve Thurmond, Calin Culianu & The Phenomenal Big Blockers
Almost 9 years since the big split of the Bitcoin community, it's time to learn more about how the Bitcoin Cash chain developed. Calin Culianu is the creator of Fulcrum, an efficient privacy-preserving SPV client. Steve Thurmond is the most ardent advocate for Cash Stamps: a convenient paper wallet system that's used for gifting. Throughout the episode, more BCH community members will join to have the conversation that you will never hear on any other Bitcoin podcast. Time stamps: 00:01:09 Introducing Calin Culianu & Steve Thurmond 00:02:37 The Evolution of Bitcoin Cash 00:03:59 Who is Behind Bitcoin Cash Now? 00:06:34 Narratives and Misconceptions 00:07:53 Vlad's Perspective on...
S17 E25: Milan De Reede on Nano GPT, AI & Vibe Coding
Milan De Reede is the co-founder of Nano GPT: a service that allows you to access all the premium (as well as free) AI models from the same interface, as you pay with bitcoin (and a bunch of other supported coins) for every query and prompt. It successfully allows users to experiment, save money on otherwise expensive subscriptions, and build without any limits (outside of the tokens budget). In this episode, we talk about the origins of Nano GPT, why it's so useful, and how you can get started with vibe coding your dream project. Essentially, my conversation with Milan...
S17 E24: Zach Herbert on AI & Hardware Wallets
Zach Herbert is the CEO of Foundation, a company which specializes in building hardware wallets that offer extra security features. The latest model, the Passport Prime, aims to also replace YubiKey for Two Factor Authentication and other more expensive encrypted storage devices. But now thanks to AI and the open source app store, new possibilities have opened up. Buy your Passport Prime using promo code ”BTCTKVR” and get a free bumper case, worth $19! Time stamps: 00:01:07 Introducing Zach Herbert, CEO of Foundation 00:03:11 Live Unboxing of Passport Prime 00:04:14 Foundation's Sci-Fi Inspiration 00:05:32 Passport Prime First Impressions 00:08:40 Factory Reset and Resale 00:09:49 Quantum Link and Blue...
S17 E23: Hunter Beast & Mark Karpelès on Bitcoin's Quantum Upgrade
Hunter Beast is the author of BIP360, the most popular proposal to add quantum resistant signatures to Bitcoin. Mark Karpelès is the former CEO of Mt. Gox and the creator of Tiban wallet. In this episode, they talk about the looming quantum threat. Time stamps: 00:00:56 Introducing Hunter Beast 00:02:38 Hunter Beast's New Role at Surmount Systems and Quantum Urgency 00:05:28 The Timeline for a Quantum Upgrade 00:07:07 The Need for a Concrete Technical Process 00:09:36 Surmount Systems' Fundraising and Mission 00:12:30 What is Surmount Systems? 00:15:09 Mark Karpeles Joins the Conversation 00:16:31 Lessons Learned from Mt. Gox 00:19:18 Quantum Resistance and BIP32 HD Wallets 00:25:22 The Debate on S...
S17 E22: Jeremy Rubin on CTV, Char & Building on Bitcoin
Jeremy Rubin is the author of BIP 119 (OP_CTV, Check Template Verify) and co-author of BIP 348 (CSFS, Check Sig From Stack). More recently, he started working on Char: a decentralized shared sequencer for Bitcoin layer 2s. In this episode, which we recorded at the LayerTwo Labs booth during the Bitcoin 2026 conference in Las Vegas, we talk about the challenges involved in improving Bitcoin and why Jeremy chooses to be a relentless builder even in an adversarial environment. Time stamps: 00:00:48 Podcast Introduction and Sponsors 00:03:02 Jeremy Rubin's Bitcoin Journey 00:03:24 Introduction to Check Template Verify (CTV) 00:04:44 The Philosophy Behind CTV 00:06:40 CTV for Congestion...
S17 E21: Paul Sztorc Hard Forks Bitcoin to Launch Ecash with Drivechains!
After 15 years of being a Bitcoin-only maximalist and about a decade of promoting BIP300 as a soft fork, LayerTwo Labs CEO Paul Sztorc decided to launch Ecash: a hard fork of Bitcoin in which every BTC holder gets free coins. There's a catch, though: while everyone can claim 1 ecash for every bitcoin that they own, Satoshi can only claim half. Meaning that a returning Satoshi will only be able to claim half his coins, while the other half (550k) is currently being sold to investors in order to fund the development and bootstrapping of Ecash. What's more controversial: the hard...
S17 E20: Talking Privacy with Amir Taaki, Harry Halpin & Christopher Cialone
Amir Taaki is one of the first Bitcoin developers to join the project and today he stands out as one of the most prominent cypherpunks and privacy advocates. Currently, he is working towards building DarkFi. Harry Halpin is one of the most prominent privacy advocates in academia, and an entrepreneur who focuses on maximizing human rights. Today, he is the CEO of Nym and he works towards normalizing privacy. Christopher Cialone is a big privacy advocate whose current focus is to free the Tornado Cash devs (especially Roman Storm) and the Samourai Wallet devs. In this episode, we talk about...
S17 E19: Deadalnix (Amaury Séchet) on Forking Bitcoin & Ecash
Amaury Séchet is the developer who forked Bitcoin in August 2017 to create Bitcoin Cash. Three years later, in the aftermath of an internal conflict about developer funding mechanisms, he also forked Bitcoin Cash to create Ecash (XEC): the evolution of the Bitcoin ABC client which adds the Avalanche protocol for a combination between the battle-tested Proof of Work security and the instant Proof of Stake finality. In this episode, we talk about the evolution of the Bitcoin protocol and why hard forks matter. Time stamps: 00:01:19 Introducing Amaury Séchet 00:03:06 Bitcoin Cash vs. eCash Price & Market Dynamics 00:05:05 Nihilism & Casino Culture in...
S17 E18: Dr. K (Karl Kreder) on Quai & Scaling Proof of Work
Karl Kreder, better known as Dr. K, is the architect of the Quai network: a layered blockchain stack which maximizes the power of proof of work to enable high transaction throughput. Similar in design with Peter Todd's idea of Tree Chains, Quai finds itself at the bleeding edge of cryptocurrency research: and might one day help scale Bitcoin too. Recently, Quai got listed on Kraken and appears to be gaining momentum. But the road to mainstream adoption and replacing banks is still long... Time stamps: 00:01:05 – Vlad introduces Dr. K, sponsors, and announces a Zcash giveaway. 00:02:36 – Quai’s recent Kraken listing and it...
S17 E17: Lukas Hozda on BIP110, Bitcoin & Rust
Lukas Hozda is the incumbent genius at Braiins mining: the Jack of all trades who's been with the company since he finished high school and can get assigned to any project. He wrote "Programming Bitcoin in Rust" and lately he's scrutinized BIP110. Time stamps: 00:00:46 – Introducing Lukas Hosoda, author and Rust developer at Braiins 00:03:08 – Discovering Bitcoin at age 12 and mining 00:07:04 – Career at Braiins 00:09:43 – Braiins Office Mining & ASICs 00:13:01 – Braiins Mini Miner (BMM101) 00:15:16 – Drivechains & Sidechains 00:17:49 – Bitcoin News & Braiins Blog 00:19:01 – Braiins HashPower Product 00:21:39 – Mining Decentralization 00:22:51 – Cake Wallet & Zcash Giveaway 00:24:01 – Terraria Plugin Development 00:27:44 – SideShift & Swapping 00:31:11 – Breadwallet & Node Mapping 00:33:38 – Joining Braiins as a Rust Programmer 00:36:06 – Writing the Book "Building Bitcoin in...
S17 E16: Summer Meng on Bitmars & Selling Bitcoin ASIC Miners
Summer Meng is the CEO of Bitmars: the largest distributor of Bitmain ASIC miners in Europe and North America. Often described as the ”ASIC Queen”, she is the person to contact if you need to supply a mining farm with the latest and best-performing hardware. In this episode, she talks about the challenges involved in ASIC miner distribution and her journey from simple employee to company CEO. Time stamps: 00:01:12 Summer Meng’s Background & Entry into Bitcoin Mining 00:03:41 Early Experiences & Learning in the Industry 00:05:23 Bitcoin Mining in China & the 2021 Ban 00:07:01 Impact of the Ban & Shift to Overseas Markets 00:09:40 Bitcoin Custody & Company Practi...