In this episode, Mike Schmidt executive director of Brink, and volunteer coordinator for the consortium, explains how the group formed, autonomy over funding, and how it plans to avoid repeating earlier centralized roadmap fights.

Timestamps:

00:55 — Quantum Risk and the Consortium Pledge

03:10 — The Nine Consortium Members

11:40 — Publishing Quantum Research Publicly

13:39 — Brink Role and Funding Concerns

16:20 — Defining Early Success Metrics

19:00 — Informing the Public on Quantum Progress

21:17 — Institutional Influence and Protocol Concerns

25:13 — Research First on Quantum Signatures

29:25 — Expanding Quantum Expertise

33:14 — Scope Beyond Quantum Security

35:31 — Why Quantum Motivates Corporate Involvement

37:43 — Debates Over Development Funding

40:30 — No Protocol Roadmap From the Consortium

42:57 — Three-Year Goal: Mature Proposals

Links: 

• Press release: https://www.strategy.com/press/leading-financial-institutions-bitcoin-companies-launch-the-bitcoin-security-consortium_07-23-2026

• Mike’s thread: https://x.com/bitschmidty/status/2080263159152091455

• Consortium X: https://x.com/BTCconsortium 

Stephan Livera links:

• Follow me on X: @stephanlivera

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Buchner, known for his work on decentralized identity at Proof, brings a technical and game-theoretic lens to the debate over Bitcoin's monetary focus versus attempts to restrict arbitrary data.

The conversation covers narrative shifts driving spam to Bitcoin, the limits of relay policy versus consensus rules, why the house analogy fails, economic node power over basement operators, and the lack of miner or buyer support that dooms the proposal.

Timestamps:

01:31 — Locusts Flock to Bitcoin's Last Pasture

03:32 — Core Policy Tweaks Aren't Consensus Rules

08:44 — Spam Hides in Any Public Key or Hash

11:12 — Spammers Adapt in a Day, Consensus Can't

14:59 — BIP110 Debate Exposes Major Inconsistency

20:44 — Why the House Analogy Totally Fails

25:25 — Nodes Get Cheaper Even With Max Spam

28:08 — Set Tolerances Assuming Worst Case

30:35 — No Legal Liability for Bad Chain Data

33:04 — Filter Regime Creates Government Backdoor

35:13 — BIP 110 Risks Centralizing Devs Around Luke

37:33 — Economic Incentives Trump 'Good Guy' Miners

39:03 — Economic Nodes Outweigh Basement Node Runners

43:49 — BIP 110 Has Near-Zero Economic Support

48:43 — Why Game Theory Kills BIP 110

55:52 — BIP 110 Fork Dies With a Whimper

Links: 

• https://x.com/csuwildcat

Stephan Livera links:

• Follow me on X: @stephanlivera

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Lyn Alden warns that BIP 110 is unlikely to curb spam and instead mostly rearranges non-monetary data, raising the risk of a minority fork attempt that could split the Bitcoin chain.

Lyn Alden is a leading macro analyst and Bitcoiner who examines how fiscal dominance now overrides traditional monetary policy tools.

She breaks down why high debt-to-GDP ratios prevent rate hikes from taming inflation, how broad money supply still expands 5-8 percent annually, the limits of semiconductor and AI valuations, and the structure of a new Bitcoin-backed permanent capital vehicle for acquiring cash-flowing businesses.

Timestamps:

02:14 — BIP 110 Won't Stop Spam

04:56 — Bitcoin Faces August Chain Split Risk

12:12 — Bitcoin in Bottom Decile of Cycle

15:37 — Nothing Stops This Fiscal Train

18:04 — Why Volcker Can't Work Today

22:02 — Higher Rates Won't Break the System

24:44 — Net Issuance Matters, Not Gross Refi

27:34 — Fed Balance Sheet Stays Flattish

32:56 — Broad Money Grows Despite Flat Fed

36:05 — US Money Supply Growth Hits 5-8%

38:51 — Fiscal Dominance: Who Wins the Money?

41:50 — Why Semiconductors Print Money

45:13 — Software Stocks: Value Trap or Opportunity?

47:31 — AI Is the New Dot-Com Bubble

52:00 — Orange Juice: Bitcoin-Backed Business Buyer

57:57 — Permanent Capital Vehicle, Not a Fund

59:39 — Founders Keep Equity Upside After Sale

Links: 

•  X: https://x.com/LynAldenContact

• Website: https://www.lynalden.com/0

• BIP 110 debate ("motte-and-bailey" critique): https://x.com/LynAldenContact/status/2078599151043162159 

Stephan Livera links:

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Bitcoin desire sentiment has fallen to an eight-year low, a contrarian signal that historically aligns with market bottoms rather than tops.

Michael Sullivan, an engineer and author, applies machine learning to individual X accounts to track granular Bitcoin emotions and moods over time.

He examines how entry eras shape lasting narratives, why pro-BIP 110 cohorts show strikingly low conviction, how individual tracking avoids bot pollution, and why boredom plus infighting often mark optimal accumulation zones.

Timestamps:

01:44 — Conviction Isn't Bullish or Bearish

07:05 — Why Individual X Tracking Beats Bots

09:53 — Desire Peaks Flag Bull Market Tops

11:49 — Bitcoin Desire Hits 8-Year Low

16:27 — New Bitcoiners Angriest Right Now

21:00 — Bitcoin Entry Era Shapes Your Views Forever?

22:48 — BIP 110 Backers Show Strikingly Low Conviction

25:33 — Pro-BIP 110 Group Lives in Its Own Bubble

28:39 — BIP110 Brigading Creates Fake Consensus

31:57 — OGs Optimistic, Plebs Stay Angry

37:13 — X Algo Shift Sparks Bitcoin Optimism

39:57 — Why Sentiment Metrics Fail for Trading

41:55 — Boredom and Infighting Signal Bitcoin Bottom

Links: 

• Michael's X: https://x.com/SullyMichaelvan

• Bitcoin Sentiment Weekly on Substack: https://sentimentsully.substack.com

• Michael’s novel, Blood of the Bourgeoisie: https://www.amazon.com/Blood-Bourgeoisie-Michael-R-Sullivan-ebook/dp/B0FRZTM49Y

Stephan Livera links:

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Even as ETFs and MicroStrategy sell into weakness, natural spot demand has kept Bitcoin from collapsing in what may be the shallowest bear market on record. The real test now is time pain, the grinding boredom that forces out remaining weak hands after the initial price capitulation.

James Check, founder of Checkonchain.com, joins me to break down the current cycle through on-chain data and market psychology. His framework distinguishes price pain from the subsequent time pain that historically marks the true bottom.

Checkmate examines why short-term holders flipped into high-conviction buyers, why 53K realized price now acts as a floor, the Pareto distribution among Bitcoin treasury companies, and why most copycat strategies will fail in the months ahead.

Timestamps:

00:56 — Last Day of Bear Feels Worst

03:26 — Time Pain Grinds Out Weak Hands

05:53 — Shallowest Bear Market Ever Seen

08:53 — Spot Buyers Saving Bitcoin From Zero

11:14 — Short-Term Holders Are Now Smart Money

15:28 — July Bear Bottom: 8-Method Average

18:50 — 53K Realized Price Now the Floor

23:00 — Buy Bottom 15% and Just DCA

28:30 — The AI Trade

30:46 — Bitcoin and Gold Share a Rare Moat

35:23 — Will Most Bitcoin Treasuries Fail?

37:37 — MSTR's Sale of Bitcoin

41:28 — Bitcoin Treasuries Follow Harsh Pareto Rule

47:30 — Bitcoin Treasuries Next Cycle

49:05 — High-Yield Trap?

Links: 

• https://x.com/_Checkmatey_

• https://x.com/_checkonchain

• checkonchain.com

• https://charts.checkonchain.com

• http://newsletter.checkonchain.com/

Stephan Livera links:

• Follow me on X: @stephanlivera

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#StephanLivera #StephanLiveraPodcast #Bitcoin #BearMarket #OnChain #Checkmate #TimePain #RealizedPrice #BitcoinTreasury #MarketCycles

Radar integrates self-custodial Bitcoin payments directly into Signal's messaging network, eliminating the need for separate apps or custodians when sending value to contacts.

Seth for Privacy, from the Cake Wallet team, explains how Radar targets everyday users rather than Bitcoin maximalists by preserving Signal's privacy model while adding instant Lightning-enabled transfers via Spark.

The discussion covers seamless account migration from Signal, offline payment receives, wallet risk limits for non-critical funds, and the decision to pursue VC funding through a separate entity.

Timestamps:

00:49 — Why Messaging & Payments Stay Separate

03:34 — Migrate Signal Account Without Losing Data

08:18 — Send Bitcoin Instantly With One Tap

10:10 — Receive Payments Completely Offline

11:40 — Bitcoin for Everyone, Not Just Bitcoiners

14:21 — Don't Put Life Savings in Hot Wallet

17:10 — Signal Can't See Your Bitcoin Payments

19:13 — Donating Monthly to Signal Foundation

22:48 — Radar Takes VC Path Unlike Cake

Links: 

• Radar Chat: https://radar.chat

• @SethForPrivacy: https://x.com/sethforprivacy

• Cake Wallet: https://cakewallet.com

Stephan Livera links:

• Follow me on X: @stephanlivera

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Payjoin delivers transaction batching driven by real economic activity rather than waiting for pool participants, while also cutting fees through direct net settlement between counterparties.

Dan Gould, maintainer of Payjoin DevKit, explains how the new async protocol and oblivious HTTP relay change what is practical for mobile wallets today.

The conversation covers current live deployments in Bull Bitcoin and Cake Wallet, remaining fingerprinting heuristics beyond common input ownership, the multi-party roadmap, and how developers can integrate the library with under ten thousand lines of code.

Timestamps:

00:00 — Payjoin DevKit

01:46 — Live Payjoins in Wallets Today

04:25 — No Waiting for Batch Pools

06:14 — Payjoin Works on Mobile Phones

08:29 — Oblivious HTTP Hides Your IP

10:05 — Fingerprinting Still an Issue?

14:02 — Net Settlement Saves Big Fees

15:36 — Multi-Party Payjoin Roadmap

17:10 — Build Payjoin in a Weekend

Links: 

• https://x.com/brian_trollz/status/2069465912143749462 

• https://github.com/payjoin/payjoin.org/pull/143 

• https://payjoindevkit.org/ 

• https://x.com/bitgould

Stephan Livera links:

• Follow me on X: @stephanlivera

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A South African circular economy is already running real payments on Fedimint with seven guardians on Start9 boxes. Users send eCash with zero fees inside the federation and feel the same simplicity as Wallet of Satoshi—except the custody is local and the privacy model is different.

Hermann and Joshi explain how non-technical guardians set up 5-of-7 multisig, how the Conduit wallet hides complexity, and why Fedimint beats Liquid on on-chain integration and local trust. They also cover Lightning gateway economics and why small federations may beat one global Spark.

Bitcoiners exploring Lightning, eCash privacy, and circular economies in emerging markets should listen.

Key Takeaways:

1. Seven-guardian 5-of-7 multisig on Start9 now runs daily in South Africa with high reliability.

2. Users inside the same federation enjoy true zero-fee eCash transfers.

3. Conduit wallet offers a lighter, payments-focused alternative to Fedi with regional QR support.

4. Migration between federations is smooth with parallel running and user-controlled timing.

5. Fedimint severs the transaction graph for privacy while Liquid hides amounts but retains the graph.

6. Local guardians reduce the “custodial guilt” felt when onboarding users to foreign services.

7. Lightning gateways can become profitable side businesses with only a few hours of monthly work.

8. Geographic spread of guardians improves resilience against local internet or power outages.

9. Onboarding still requires one extra step—joining the federation—after app install.

10. Fedimint is on-chain native, allowing direct receive and send without intermediate swaps.

Timestamps:

00:00 - Fedimint Goes Live in South Africa

01:48 - Magic: Pay Across Africa

04:15 - Onboard Users Without Custodial Guilt

08:08 - Zero Fees Shock Rural Users

11:04 - Liquid vs Fedimint Privacy Showdown

13:32 - Many Small Federations Or Global Spark

16:09 - Non-Techies Run Bitcoin Guardians Easily

18:14 - 5-of-7 Multisig Survives Two Failures

20:53 - Fedimint QR Is a 5-of-7 Multisig

24:05 - Gateway: Profitable Hobby in Hours/Month

31:06 - Trust Locals Over Anonymous Custodians

34:55 - Spread Guardians to Survive Outages

Links: 

• Bitcoin Ekasi: https://bitcoinekasi.org

• Fedimint: https://fedimint.org

• Conduit Wallet: https://joschisan.github.io/conduit/

• SLP651 with Eric & Joschi: https://stephanlivera.com/651

• Follow Hermann: https://x.com/vryfokkenou

• Follow Joschi: https://x.com/joschisanbtc

Stephan Livera links:

• Follow me on X: @stephanlivera

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In this episode,  NVK rejoins me to discuss the latest developments in Bitcoin self-custody, hardware wallets, and privacy solutions, providing valuable insights for enthusiasts and practitioners alike.

Timestamps:

00:00 Quarterly Self-Custody Update

01:28 Sparrow Wallet Update & Silent Payments

05:41 Coldcard MK5 & Recent Firmware Updates

07:53 The Evolution of Co-signing & MuSig2

11:58 Liana & Nunchuk Wallet Updates

17:16 Cove, BlueWallet & Mobile Wallet Progress

19:09 BitKey V2 & Pragmatic Self-Custody

22:55 Open Hardware Wallet Project Updates

27:15 Merchant Payments & Bitcoin Commerce

31:19 Stable Balance Wallets & Self-Custody

36:38 Hardware Wallet Security Updates

39:07 ARCA: Personal Data Haven Explained

Links: 

Stephan Livera links:

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In this episode, Alejandro De La Torre, CEO of @DMND_Sv2, joins me to discuss the mining of Bitcoin block 955,318 — the first known Stratum V2 block on mainnet.

We break down what happened, the benefits of Stratum V2, how it improves efficiency and we talk about SV2 adoption more broadly.

A great episode for anyone who wants to understand where Bitcoin mining is heading.

Timestamps:

00:00 The First Stratum V2 Block: What Happened?

01:08 How Does Miner Transaction Selection Change Bitcoin Mining?

01:58 Can SV2 Mining Pools Still Reject Blocks Though?

03:19 Can Miners Easily Switch Pools with Stratum V2?

04:45 Major Mining Pools Joining the Stratum V2 Working Group

05:40 Hardware & Firmware Support for Stratum V2

07:43 Is Miner Interest in Stratum V2 Growing?

09:00 The Biggest Benefits of Stratum V2 for Miners

10:21 How Does DMND's SLICE Payout System Compare to FPPS?

11:50 What Needs to Happen for Stratum V2 to Become the Standard?

13:21 Should Miners Start Building Their Own Block Templates?

Links: 

• Alejandro’s announcement post: https://x.com/bitentrepreneur/status/2070131040992035235

• DMND Pool: https://www.dmnd.work

• Alejandro on X: https://x.com/bitentrepreneur

Stephan Livera links:

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In this episode, Adrian Morris joins the show to discuss Bitcoin Treasury Companies. We explore whether MSTR and STRC are over, sustainable mNAV premiums, the impact of leverage, the right way to calculate mNAV, how many such companies can realistically exist, and how this space evolves through bull and bear markets.

Timestamps:

00:00 What are Bitcoin Treasury Skeptics Getting Wrong?

03:55 Is it over for STRC? Par vs Peg

06:30 The level of correlation to Bitcoin price

07:10 Critiques of STRC marketing?

09:02 Market Dynamics and Bitcoin Correlation

10:50 Should Strategy Do Something About STRC?

13:55 Is it a waiting game?

14:40 Is the bitcoin treasury risk mispriced? When is a premium justified?

19:26 Leverage or Amplification embedded in the structure

24:10 Operating or Financing Flows to Get Bitcoin?

26:15 mNAV

29:12 Thoughts on CEBE Analysis

32:30 Different forms of mNAV

36:12 Sentiment’s role is amplified

40:32 “Just Tread Water and Survive Until the Bull”

42:47 Will the Correlation to Bitcoin Price increase over time?

46:18 Growth Opportunities: Mergers and Acquisitions 

48:23 The Bitcoin Treasury Model - How Replicable is it?

51:50 Where are we in this cycle?

53:42 AI Analysis: Tools and Techniques for Investors

58:55 Is AI being overbuilt? 

1:01:40 Open Weights and Local AI?

Links: 

• Adrian on X: https://x.com/_Adrian

• True North: https://tnorth.com/

• Bitcoin For Corporations: https://bitcoinforcorporations.com/

Stephan Livera links:

• Follow me on X: @stephanlivera

• Subscribe to the podcast

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