What is the most important project in Bitcoin? It isn't BIP 110 or some shiny new payment protocol. We actually have a massive security vulnerability sitting at the base layer: Bitcoin mining isn't really mining anymore.

Right now, we have millions of hashers but barely a handful of real miners deciding what transactions make it into a block. And that means a few centralized pool operators could easily censor the network.

In this Take, I explain why the critical distinction between a hasher and a miner matters. But more importantly, I outline how newer protocols are finally fixing a decade-long mistake.

Chapters

(00:00:00) - The most important project

(00:00:29) - Hashers vs miners

(00:01:35) - Pools choose transactions

(00:03:06) - The few pools who can censor

(00:04:21) - Nodes and block templates

(00:06:15) - Holding your own keys

(00:06:55) - Datum and Stratum V2

(00:08:50) - The single giant pool risk

(00:11:31) - Spam, Slipstream, BIP110

(00:13:22) - Ocean, DMND, and what's next

Affiliate Links

• Become sovereign, hold your keys, be censorship resistant with the Bitbox hardware wallet. Get 5% off everything in the store with code GUY (Link: https://bitbox.swiss/guy/)
• Get 10% off the best Bitcoin board game in the world, HODLUP! Or any of the other great games from The Free Market Kids! Use code GUY10 at checkout for 10% off your cart! (Link: https://www.freemarketkids.com/collections/games-1)

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's Takes on YouTube (Link: https://www.youtube.com/@GuysTake)

Guy Swann 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)

References from the episode

Bitcoin StackExchange #1: https://tinyurl.com/279wnyjg

D-CentralTech: https://tinyurl.com/284e3gdh

Stratum v2: https://tinyurl.com/26wn5kps

Pavlenex's X post: https://tinyurl.com/23w828ac

LNhance: https://tinyurl.com/2c9k4ogm

DMND: https://tinyurl.com/2yfurts9

BitcoinTalk: https://tinyurl.com/234qlqgb

Bitcoin StackExchange #2: https://tinyurl.com/279wnyjg

Mempool.space: https://tinyurl.com/245ahvdq

Minoa.com: https://tinyurl.com/24qmfn4d

The Defiant: https://tinyurl.com/28vsgv7z

***"I think I got kind of orange-pilled and privacy-pilled in this way when Snowden exposed all this surveillance that was happening by default through every system you've ever touched.

That's when I started treating all digital infrastructure as inherently recording devices. They're trying to take information and, even if someone doesn't really want or intend to store the information, it's possible that it gets leaked through a hack. And when it comes to money, that reveals all the relationships someone has. And without privacy, there's no way for that to be free. For Bitcoin to kind of live up in my mind to what it was meant to do, be censorship resistant, you need to have privacy."

~ Dan Gould***

We've all heard that Bitcoin needs privacy to function as real money. But most current solutions force you to jump through ridiculous hoops. Dan Gould has been obsessing over this exact problem for years, and he came on the show to explain why we might finally have a viable fix.

Dan and I talked through the history of Bitcoin privacy tools. We looked back at the early days of TumbleBit and Wasabi, and got into why past attempts failed to gain significant adoption. But the core of our conversation was about Payjoin V3.

If you care about protecting your stack and keeping your identity safe from on-chain surveillance firms, you need to hear this one. Dan breaks down exactly how the new Payjoin protocol strips out the heavy infrastructure and simply hides your transactions in plain sight. It completely shifted my perspective on how we actually achieve basic on-chain privacy.

Chapters

(00:00:00) - Guest intro

(00:04:42) - Fixing base layer anonymity

(00:10:29) - The physical risks of public ledgers

(00:14:58) - Lessons from early privacy protocols

(00:21:44) - FinCEN and the downfall of Stratus

(00:26:20) - The technical flaws of synchronous mobile coinjoins

(00:30:37) - Developer assumptions versus actual user behavior

(00:32:40) - Understanding Payjoin and interactive transaction batching

(00:39:19) - Overcoming complex connection barriers in p2p privacy

(00:42:07) - Async Payjoin directories

(00:49:20) - Output substitution and routing interactive payments

(01:00:28) - Achieving non-interactive additions without covenants

(01:12:34) - The push for widespread adoption

Guest Links

Dan on X (Link: https://twitter.com/bitgould)

Payjoin's Website (Link: https://payjoin.org)

Payjoin's GitHub (Link: https://github.com/payjoin)

Edward Snowden's X post (Link: https://x.com/Snowden/status/1391040522433830912?s=20)

Affiliate Links

• Become sovereign, hold your keys, be censorship resistant with the Bitbox hardware wallet. Get 5% off everything in the store with code GUY (Link: https://bitbox.swiss/)
• Get 10% off the best Bitcoin board game in the world, HODLUP! Or any of the other great games from The Free Market Kids! Use code GUY10 at checkout for 10% off your cart! (Link: https://www.freemarketkids.com/collections/games-1)

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's Takes on YouTube (Link: https://www.youtube.com/@GuysTake)

Guy Swann 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)

The extreme left often claims to follow logic and "the science". But I've noticed a glaring pattern that contradicts this. And once you see it, you can't unsee it.

In this Take, I share my thoughts on the "holy trinity" the woke left actually worships. It starts with treating other people's money like magic. But seizing wealth is just the beginning. I break down the dangerous obsession with political authority and blind submission driving this hostile new religion.

Chapters

(00:00:00) - Woke left claims logic

(00:00:55) - Other people’s money

(00:01:38) - Money as magic wand

(00:02:17) - Money isn’t enough

(00:03:04) - Gov waste vs billionaires

(00:05:14) - Power as second god

(00:07:31) - “Trust the science” dogma

(00:09:24) - The holy trinity

(00:11:23) - Saving their own world

Affiliate Links

• Become sovereign, hold your keys, be censorship resistant with the Bitbox hardware wallet. Get 5% off everything in the store with code GUY (Link: https://bitbox.swiss/guy/)
• Get 10% off the best Bitcoin board game in the world, HODLUP! Or any of the other great games from The Free Market Kids! Use code GUY10 at checkout for 10% off your cart! (Link: https://www.freemarketkids.com/collections/games-1)

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's Takes on YouTube (Link: https://www.youtube.com/@GuysTake)

Guy Swann 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)

References from the episode

Demand Sage: https://tinyurl.com/2blh4j3x

CNBC: https://tinyurl.com/y86nqau8

Fox News: https://tinyurl.com/25tpbxjz

NewsBreak: https://tinyurl.com/29wlamev

GAO.Gov: https://tinyurl.com/24szjfr5

NPR: https://tinyurl.com/2yfms6k7

Yahoo News: https://tinyurl.com/2cfvzxuy

Fox News: https://tinyurl.com/2xmslvkp

We Forum: https://tinyurl.com/26ltmt5r

The Hill: https://tinyurl.com/23wqhj5d

NewsWeek: https://tinyurl.com/28apgpqt

BBC: https://tinyurl.com/2y8zhvs4

BBC: https://tinyurl.com/23b522tn

The sentiment lately has been total garbage. We’re deep in a bear market, the red candles are stacking up, and people are getting nervous. So, I got the guys back around the table to ask a really uncomfortable question: what happens if Bitcoin actually dies?

We keep things pretty casual but talk through some heavy stuff. We debate the real dangers of leverage, the bizarre obsession with paper Bitcoin equities, and the petty developer drama surrounding mining protocols. Along the way, we come back to why many of us are still effectively all in on Bitcoin, and it's definitely not just for the price. Steve also drops an analogy about weathering the financial storm in the "basement", which it might completely change how you look at market crashes.

If you’re feeling the pain of this current cycle, you really need to hear where we ended up on this one.

Chapters

(00:00:00) - What if Bitcoin Dies?

(00:03:19) - Montreal news and homeless issues

(00:10:37) - Mechanic's update: BIP 110 and network

(00:12:11) - Critiquing Saylor, MSTR and Bitcoin ethos

(00:20:59) - Leverage and state centralization risks

(00:26:09) - Stratum V2 vs Datum decentralization

(00:38:35) - Decentralized hash rate marketplace

(00:49:10) - BIP 110 activation and exchange policies

(00:56:42) - Taproot key vs script spends analysis

(01:05:11) - Bear market sentiment and new Bitcoiners

(01:12:10) - Productivity, hope and social change

(01:29:16) - Why Bitcoin as the only truth

(01:47:59) - Bitcoin as ethical money and liberty

(01:55:25) - Outro

Guest Links

• Steve Simple Nostr (Link: https://tinyurl.com/3s6a8yn8)
• Steve Simple on X (Link: https://x.com/stevesimple)
• Bitcoin Mechanic Nostr (Link: https://tinyurl.com/2tm827ut)
• Bitcoin Mechanic on X (Link: https://x.com/GrassFedBitcoin)
• Jeff Swann Nostr (Link: https://tinyurl.com/3sjc3bcp)
• Jeff Swann on X (Link: https://x.com/agoristview)
• Jeff Swann's petition (Link: https://www.change.org/p/help-us-home)

Affiliate Links

• Become sovereign, hold your keys, be censorship resistant with the Bitbox hardware wallet. Get 5% off everything in the store with code GUY (Link: https://bitbox.swiss/guy)
• Get 10% off the best Bitcoin board game in the world, HODLUP! Or any of the other great games from The Free Market Kids! Use code GUY10 at checkout for 10% off your cart! (Link: https://www.freemarketkids.com/collections/games-1)

Host Links

• ⁠Guy on Nostr ⁠(Link: http://tinyurl.com/2xc96ney)
• ⁠Guy on X ⁠(Link: https://x.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://x.com/BitcoinAudible)
• The Guy Swann Network Broadcast Room on Keet (Link: https://tinyurl.com/3na6v839)

"In this X post, I said I don't know the consequences of BIP-110. Plenty of people called that incompetent, cowardly, or both. Others praised it as humility. It's neither. It's just true. I don't know the consequences, and here's my claim. Neither do you."

~ Jimmy Song

I am reading Jimmy Song’s latest piece and things get a bit heated today. The debate around BIP-110 has everyone absolutely certain they know what will happen to Bitcoin. But as Jimmy points out, they don't. And honestly, neither do I.

Do we really understand the social consequences of these network changes?

Check out the original article: On Overconfidence by Jimmy Song (Link: https://x.com/jimmysong/status/2071637370881941750)

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's Takes on YouTube (Link: https://www.youtube.com/@GuysTake)

Guy Swann 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)

Check out our awesome partners!

• Become sovereign, hold your keys, be censorship resistant with the Bitbox hardware wallet. Get 5% off everything in the store with code GUY (Link: https://bitbox.swiss/guy)
• Get ⁠10% off the COLDCARD⁠ with code BITCOINAUDIBLE ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠(Link: https://bitcoinaudible.com/coldcard)
• Get 10% off the best Bitcoin board game in the world, HODLUP! Or any of the other great games from The Free Market Kids! Use code GUY10 at checkout for 10% off your cart! (Link: https://www.freemarketkids.com/collections/games-1)

"Let me never fall into the vulgar mistake of dreaming that I am persecuted whenever I am contradicted."

~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

"comma develops open source ADAS software. You can call it self-driving software, but currently what we ship is something where the user is supposed to pay attention all the time."

"We want the software to be open source so that people have full control. The hardware is something you have root on. We don't have any access to your device in terms of that's necessary to make it operate normally. There's some telemetry that you can turn off if you want. The device is something you buy, you run open source software on it and there's no cloud involved in making it work as an ADAS product."

***"We're pretty passionate about making sure that if you buy something you own it, if you run software, it should be open source and you should be able to modify it, or at least we shouldn't be able to stop you. That should be a thing that you control."

~ Harald Schäfer***

In this episode I talk with Harald Schäfer, CTO of comma(.)ai, about building sovereign driver-assist tech that runs locally on hardware you actually own. We dig into open-source ADAS, resisting the subscription and cloud-control model, how comma stayed sustainable without obtaining billions from VCs, and the real impact of modern AI on software development and robotics. We also get into the nerdy details of training self-driving models using a generative video simulator built from real-world driving data.

Chapters

(00:00:00) - Intro and why comma matters

(00:05:28) - Sovereign tech and DRM

(00:08:38) - Open-source ADAS and user control

(00:10:27) - You’ll own nothing and be happy

(00:12:39) - AI, privacy and open source

(00:16:31) - Harald’s path into comma(.)ai

(00:21:27) - Car support and installs

(00:24:39) - Sustainable business vs VC

(00:34:01) - LLMs, coding and debt

(00:43:40) - Generative simulators for driving

(00:58:56) - In-person hardware engineering teams

(01:24:45) - Regulation and walled gardens

(01:30:26) - Final thoughts and how to try comma(.)ai

Guest Links

Harald on X (Link: https://x.com/___Harald___)

comma on X (Link: https://x.com/comma_ai)

comma's Website (Link: https://comma.ai/)

Affiliate Links

• Become sovereign, hold your keys, be censorship resistant with the Bitbox hardware wallet. Get 5% off everything in the store with code GUY (Link: https://bitbox.swiss/)
• Get 10% off the best Bitcoin board game in the world, HODLUP! Or any of the other great games from The Free Market Kids! Use code GUY10 at checkout for 10% off your cart! (Link: https://www.freemarketkids.com/collections/games-1)

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's Takes on YouTube (Link: https://www.youtube.com/@GuysTake)

Guy Swann 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)

Over 10.5 million Bitcoin are currently underwater. Everyone is panicking about a grueling bear market, but I see things differently. In today's Take, I explain why this recent drop actually signals deep liquidity and a historically accurate market bottom. The traditional four-year cycle is breaking. And as the national debt keeps doubling and the fiat printing won't stop, let's talk about why staying patient right now means everything.

Chapters

(00:00:00) - Another big dump & 10.5M BTC underwater

(00:01:25) - Capitulation signal that’s called every bear bottom

(00:02:22) - From 90% crashes to a muted bear

(00:03:10) - Liquidity, ETFs, and Bitcoin as collateral & SoV

(00:04:57) - Patience: the rarest Bitcoin skill

(00:05:28) - Exponential US debt and the long‑term Bitcoin lens

(00:06:15) - How past cycles felt vs how they look on the chart

(00:06:42) - From $15K to a $60K+ floor: what that implies

(00:07:10) - Self‑custody, ETFs, and why keys matter

(00:08:01) - Volatility vs risk in a fast‑growing asset

(00:09:21) - Max pain, hopelessness, and where opportunity lives

(00:10:08) - Blood in the streets & hunting one more dip

Affiliate Links

• Become sovereign, hold your keys, be censorship resistant with the Bitbox hardware wallet. Get 5% off everything in the store with code GUY (Link: https://bitbox.swiss/guy/)
• Get 10% off the best Bitcoin board game in the world, HODLUP! Or any of the other great games from The Free Market Kids! Use code GUY10 at checkout for 10% off your cart! (Link: https://www.freemarketkids.com/collections/games-1)

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's Takes on YouTube (Link: https://www.youtube.com/@GuysTake)

Guy Swann 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)

References from the episode

Coindesk: tinyurl.com/26l8pqzbInvesting.com: tinyurl.com/2a2wubsq

BitBo: tinyurl.com/2anzw6g2

FT: tinyurl.com/23eglpaz

Reason: tinyurl.com/2687zybx

Yahoo Finance: tinyurl.com/27crbd6v

Fortune: tinyurl.com/25nvhgzt

CNBC: tinyurl.com/2ynpzq8v

Yellow: tinyurl.com/28e43f7o

FRED: tinyurl.com/2ddoz54u

Decrypt: tinyurl.com/2ylup3hm

CoinDesk: tinyurl.com/253cflvk

Guardian: tinyurl.com/2bynazae

Reuters: tinyurl.com/26p89zjm

Trading Key: tinyurl.com/2cceq344

Yahoo Finance: tinyurl.com/2boso8gs

Spark: tinyurl.com/2422njur

Yahoo Finance: tinyurl.com/29yn59sx

Elon Musk is officially a trillionaire. Naturally, people are calling it yet another failure of capitalism, and I'm calling BS.

I compared his wealth to Andrew Carnegie’s fortune. On paper, Musk’s number looks insane, but when you measure them against the total money supply of their eras, the truth completely flips. I believe we aren't seeing runaway capitalism, but we are simply measuring success with a broken tape measure.

I explain why fiat is failing, why you should be mad at central banks instead of builders, and how we finally opt out.

Chapters

(00:00:00) - Did Elon Break Capitalism?

(00:00:42) - What A Trillion Means

(00:01:07) - Carnegie And Cheap Steel

(00:02:12) - Monetary Base Comparison

(00:03:08) - Elon’s Impossible Companies

(00:04:39) - Reusable Rockets Revolution

(00:05:50) - Capitalism vs Fiat Failure

(00:07:20) - Inflation And Fake Records

(00:09:04) - Fiat Stole Your Future

(00:12:12) - Bitcoin As The Exit

Affiliate Links

• Become sovereign, hold your keys, be censorship resistant with the Bitbox hardware wallet. Get 5% off everything in the store with code GUY (Link: https://bitbox.swiss/guy/)
• Get 10% off the best Bitcoin board game in the world, HODLUP! Or any of the other great games from The Free Market Kids! Use code GUY10 at checkout for 10% off your cart! (Link: https://www.freemarketkids.com/collections/games-1)

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's Takes on YouTube (Link: https://www.youtube.com/@GuysTake)

Guy Swann 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)

References from the episode

Andrew Carnegie Foundation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-2MLqvHxU58

Andrew Carnegie Foundation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kMJm04hoGg8

Andrew Carnegie Foundation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lETFnhXVH8s

BFI National Archive: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Rg5vctokvw

US Government: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_hlfqggGOZw

CNN: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=adVbaJp6n6c

Bloomberg: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZucUZZkIQw0

Bloomberg: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5uV6qLYqMQ

Tesla: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TszRyT8hjJE

SpaceX: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T43sbhCKvBY

Starlink: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-8vy3Azdv2I

SpaceX: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hI9HQfCAw64

Dieck Docs: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LUE4yqAd1WU&t=439s

Simpsons clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9o2Oc2g-vTk

WSJ: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0VwIlALimNw

Movieclips: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NQ-8IuUkJJc

The Luxury: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7hbzW6DoSOA

The Economist: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5i45h76ioHY

WSJ: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0VwIlALimNw&t=68s

CNN: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eI2HIwZT3FI

Fox Business: https://tinyurl.com/fb-spacex-ipo

Variety.com: https://tinyurl.com/var-spacex-ipo

FinanceFeeds.com: https://tinyurl.com/ff-musk-networth

Fortune.com: https://tinyurl.com/fort-spacex-ipo

VisualCapitalist.com: https://tinyurl.com/vc-musk-trillionaire

CNBC: https://tinyurl.com/cnbc-spacex-updates

NPR: https://tinyurl.com/npr-spacex-ipo

statspanda.com: https://tinyurl.com/stat-musk-history

Bloomberg: https://tinyurl.com/bb-billionaires-index

PurePowerPicks.com: https://tinyurl.com/ppp-musk-tracker

PBS: https://tinyurl.com/pbs-steel-business

IMDB: https://tinyurl.com/imdb-blockbusters

Arpit Kushwaha: https://tinyurl.com/ak-madoff-scheme

explorepahistory.com: https://tinyurl.com/eph-carnegie-bill

Just Simple_English: https://tinyurl.com/jse-1trillion

Detroit Publishing Co: https://tinyurl.com/dpc-steel-plant1

Detroit Publishing Co: https://tinyurl.com/dpc-steel-plant2

Collins Dictionary: https://tinyurl.com/cd-equity

Ineteconomics: https://tinyurl.com/inet-lehman-failure

NY Daily News: https://tinyurl.com/nydn-enron-hearings

Alamy.com: https://tinyurl.com/alamy-ftx-sued

Econovisuals: https://tinyurl.com/eco-m2-supply

***"We're entering the Bitcoin golden era with all the new technologies we're discovering because for the first decade Bitcoin was still very, at least for the first five, six years, there was so little capital in the industry that not a lot was getting built. Plus Bitcoin still had all these early on issues. Now we're getting to the moment where Bitcoin is extremely solid.

It's a trillion dollar industry, right, or a trillion dollar asset. So I think we're just entering the golden era."

~ Gustavo Flores***

I sat down with Gustavo Flores, the CEO of Aureo, Mexico's Bitcoin platform, and this conversation went far beyond just building software. Gustavo actually left Canada for Mexico because of the intense COVID mandates. He recognized the red flags of government overreach early on and refused to stick around. But what he found in Mexico was a completely different beast.

We talked about the harsh realities of building a Bitcoin company in a low-trust society where people are conditioned to expect scams. And yet, Gustavo and his team are building some of the most impressive tools I have seen. They figured out a way to route local fiat directly to a self-custodial Lightning address, without even the need of a middleman to hold your keys. It just works.

We also talked about the heavy lifting required to run La Casa de Satoshi, a physical Bitcoin hub in Mexico City. It takes a severe amount of irrational optimism to be a founder in this space, but the effort is paying off. Plus, we got into the weeds on why Lightning development is actually moving faster than people think. If you assume the best era of Bitcoin development is already behind us, you need to hear this conversation.

Chapters

(00:00:00) - Intro to Gustavo and Aureo

(00:03:30) - Gustavo's Bitcoin journey and Aureo

(00:06:54) - Leaving Canada due to COVID policies

(00:15:51) - Bitcoin in Mexico and Latin America

(00:27:47) - Money, trust, and Mexican politics

(00:32:00) - Aureo's Direct to Wallet, Direct to Bank

(00:41:40) - Mexico's political landscape, trust

(00:53:07) - Building La Casa de Satoshi community

(01:06:14) - Lightning Network and Bitcoin scaling

(01:22:48) - Bitcoin's golden era and optimism

Guest Links

Gustavo on X (Link: https://twitter.com/gustavojfe)

Aureo on X (Link: https://twitter.com/aureobitcoin)

Aureo's Website (Link: https://www.aureobitcoin.com/en)

Affiliate Links\

• Become sovereign, hold your keys, be censorship resistant with the Bitbox hardware wallet. Get 5% off everything in the store with code GUY (Link: https://bitbox.swiss/)\
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I break down the Treasury’s claim that it seized $1B of Iran’s "crypto" and explain why this was actually Tether, not Bitcoin – and why that distinction matters.

I digs into how stablecoins, ETFs, and exchanges recreate the same centralized, confiscable banking system, contrasted with true Bitcoin self-custody.

When you consider Iran, Russia, and Afghanistan as case studies, it is clear that every other reserve asset becomes politicized. The writing is on the wall for centralised finance, and the world will be forced onto Bitcoin because it is the only neutral money that simply keeps working.

Affiliate Links

• Become sovereign, hold your keys, be censorship resistant with the Bitbox hardware wallet. Get 5% off everything in the store with code GUY (Link: https://bitbox.swiss/)
• Get 10% off the best Bitcoin board game in the world, HODLUP! Or any of the other great games from The Free Market Kids! Use code GUY10 at checkout for 10% off your cart! (Link: https://www.freemarketkids.com/collections/games-1)

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)

**"Keeping Bitcoin running is the primary concern here. Making sure that Bitcoin is available to be used as money by everyday people, any actor who wants to come onto Bitcoin and send one UTXO from one to another. That's the most important piece for me when thinking about defending Bitcoin. **And the biggest difference, of course, is that this is a decentralised system. There is no central controller. There's no central control room giving out commands and saying 'this has to change, you must do this.' We are a decentralised group of individuals who are acting on the network. And so the defence of the system is not down to, say, the CEO dictating that everyone has to have their password be 64 characters and change it every three months, which is bad practise, by the way. It's everyone working together to do their part. So that's the biggest difference."

~ Luke de Wolf

I sat down with Luke de Wolf to talk about the real security risks facing Bitcoin today. Luke has spent his career protecting critical industrial control systems like oil pipelines and electrical grids. Now, he is taking that hardcore cybersecurity mindset and applying it to the Bitcoin network in his brand new book, *Defending Bitcoin*. And trust me, it is a conversation you need to hear.

We spent a lot of time debating the heated topic of arbitrary data and the drama surrounding BIP 110. Should we enforce strict rules to keep the blockchain pure, or is trying to force a chain split a bigger threat to Bitcoin's integrity as money? Luke actually changed his mind on this recently, and he lays out exactly why the stakes could be too high to play games with consensus. His perspective really cuts through the noise and challenges the tribal thinking happening on both sides.

But we didn't just stop there. We also get into mining centralization, selfish mining attacks, and why we need to view Bitcoin as high-stakes critical infrastructure. The decisions we make now could determine if this network survives long-term.

Guest Links

• Luke on X (Link: https://twitter.com/lukedewolf)
• BTCHel's Website (Link: https://btchel.com/)
• Defending Bitcoin's Website (Link: https://defendingbitcoin.com/)
• Bitcoin Infinity Show on YouTube (Link: https://www.youtube.com/@BitcoinInfinityShow)

Affiliate Links

• Become sovereign, hold your keys, be censorship resistant with the Bitbox hardware wallet. Get 5% off everything in the store with code GUY (Link: https://bitbox.swiss/)
• Get 10% off the best Bitcoin board game in the world, HODLUP! Or any of the other great games from The Free Market Kids! Use code GUY10 at checkout for 10% off your cart! (Link: https://www.freemarketkids.com/collections/games-1)
• (Under construction) Check out the list of products and services I use and recommend on BitcoinAudible.com (Link: https://bitcoinaudible.com/)

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)