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BITCOIN RAILS #38: Two Forces That Could Break Bitcoin: AI vs Quantum I with Martin Shkreli 🔗 YOUTUBE: 🌿 SPOTIFY: A couple months ago, I co-hosted an X space with LayerTwo Labs re: “Should Bitcoiners care about quantum computing?” You can imagine our surprise when (in?)famous tech investor Martin...

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Isabel Foxen Duke⚡️

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62,881 views • 9 months ago •via X (Twitter)

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BITCOIN RAILS #34: Bitcoin’s Security & Quantum Risks—and the Future of Satoshi’s Coins | with Jameson Lopp Jameson Lopp “Most people don’t think about security until it’s too late,” says the Casa co-founder and CSO. One of the most prolific thought-leaders in Bitcoin security and privacy, there are few people who understand the nuances of Bitcoin security quite as deeply - not to mention the OPSEC practices required to protect against wrench attacks, for instance, which are rising globally as Bitcoin price increases. More recently, Lopp has turned his attention to mitigating Bitcoin’s quantum vulnerabilities, including market risks associated with quantum-vulnerable Satoshi’s Coins + longer-term strategies for quantum-hardening of Bitcoin addresses long term. In this special episode of Bitcoin Rails, we cover: - Lopp’s experiences designing self-custody products at both BitGo and Casa - The swatting attack he suffered in 2017, and the radical steps he’s taken to secure his home location since - The ‘quantum computing’ challenge for Bitcoin and its impacts on Satoshi’s Coins - How the network may respond to QCs in the face of ossification and why QC preparation may be the hardest governance test the network has ever faced This episode is powered by: - Best In Slot (Best in Slot | BRC2.0 🧑‍🍳), the leading API for Ordinals and BRC20 data aggregation and indexing - Spark (Lightspark), a statechains implementation leading the path towards institutional adoption of Bitcoin-powered payments - Citrea (Citrea), the leading Bitcoin Rollup technology and contributor to the BitVM alliance 📌 Timestamps 00:00 – Intro: Quantum Computing Meets Bitcoin 00:19 – Jameson Lopp on the Bitcoin Rails 00:53 – The Quantum Threat to Bitcoin Security 06:32 – Lopp’s Path into Bitcoin & Security 12:58 – The Swatting Attack During the Block Size Wars 25:28 – Could Quantum Crack Satoshi’s Coins? 43:55 – Announcements & Sponsors Messages 45:30 – Building Bitcoin’s Quantum Resistance 47:00 – QBTC and the Push for Quantum-Resistant Bitcoin 48:43 – Why Changing Bitcoin Is So Hard 51:19 – Email Protocols, Ossification, and Bitcoin’s Future 01:01:53 – A Roadmap for Quantum Resistance
1:27:58

BITCOIN RAILS #34: Bitcoin’s Security & Quantum Risks—and the Future of Satoshi’s Coins | with Jameson Lopp Jameson Lopp “Most people don’t think about security until it’s too late,” says the Casa co-founder and CSO. One of the most prolific thought-leaders in Bitcoin security and privacy, there are few people who understand the nuances of Bitcoin security quite as deeply - not to mention the OPSEC practices required to protect against wrench attacks, for instance, which are rising globally as Bitcoin price increases. More recently, Lopp has turned his attention to mitigating Bitcoin’s quantum vulnerabilities, including market risks associated with quantum-vulnerable Satoshi’s Coins + longer-term strategies for quantum-hardening of Bitcoin addresses long term. In this special episode of Bitcoin Rails, we cover: - Lopp’s experiences designing self-custody products at both BitGo and Casa - The swatting attack he suffered in 2017, and the radical steps he’s taken to secure his home location since - The ‘quantum computing’ challenge for Bitcoin and its impacts on Satoshi’s Coins - How the network may respond to QCs in the face of ossification and why QC preparation may be the hardest governance test the network has ever faced This episode is powered by: - Best In Slot (Best in Slot | BRC2.0 🧑‍🍳), the leading API for Ordinals and BRC20 data aggregation and indexing - Spark (Lightspark), a statechains implementation leading the path towards institutional adoption of Bitcoin-powered payments - Citrea (Citrea), the leading Bitcoin Rollup technology and contributor to the BitVM alliance 📌 Timestamps 00:00 – Intro: Quantum Computing Meets Bitcoin 00:19 – Jameson Lopp on the Bitcoin Rails 00:53 – The Quantum Threat to Bitcoin Security 06:32 – Lopp’s Path into Bitcoin & Security 12:58 – The Swatting Attack During the Block Size Wars 25:28 – Could Quantum Crack Satoshi’s Coins? 43:55 – Announcements & Sponsors Messages 45:30 – Building Bitcoin’s Quantum Resistance 47:00 – QBTC and the Push for Quantum-Resistant Bitcoin 48:43 – Why Changing Bitcoin Is So Hard 51:19 – Email Protocols, Ossification, and Bitcoin’s Future 01:01:53 – A Roadmap for Quantum Resistance

Isabel Foxen Duke⚡️

14,538 views • 10 months ago

BITCOIN RAILS #36: The Birth Story of ‘OPCAT’ | with proposal co-author Ethan ✨ is on BlueSky✨ Heilman 🐱 🔗 YOUTUBE: 🌿 SPOTIFY: As interest in Bitcoin Layer 2s skyrockets, the inclusion of OP_CAT — an opcode enabling concatenation of elements in the Bitcoin stack — has become a key technical upgrade to watch for its potential in the development of trustless bridges. OP_CAT co-author Ethan ✨ is on BlueSky✨ Heilman 🐱 and I sat down to discuss debate around this opcode — including why it’s controversial, the cultural environment shaping its future, and why some worry its broad expressivity could pose “unknown risks” to Bitcoin over time. More recently, Ethan co-authored BIP 360 with Hunter Beast 🕯️ — another controversial proposal aimed at addressing Bitcoin’s quantum vulnerabilities. Suffice it to say, there are few people with Ethan's experience in navigating Bitcoin politics and its shifting governance landscape as we move towards ossification over time. In this episode, we cover: - The origins of OP_CAT and why it was included and removed from early Bitcoin - What makes OP_CAT so powerful (and why that worries some developers) - Cultural shifts in Bitcoin governance as its developer community matures - The ‘great covenants debate’ + OPCAT vs. CTV - The path to BIP 360 and why Bitcoin should be ‘quantum ready’ This episode is powered by: - Best In Slot (Best in Slot | BRC2.0 🧑‍🍳), the leading API for Ordinals and BRC20 data aggregation and indexing - Spark (Lightspark), a statechains implementation leading the path towards institutional adoption of Bitcoin-powered payments - Citrea (Citrea), the leading Bitcoin Rollup technology and contributor to the BitVM alliance 📍 Timestamps 00:00 – Intro 00:45 – Bitcoin Privacy and the OP_CAT Proposal 03:18 – Technical Challenges of Adding New Opcodes 07:37 – Politics and Culture of Bitcoin Upgrades 28:46 – Quantum Computing Meets Bitcoin 37:48 – How Governments View Quantum Risk 39:06 – Breaking Down BIP 360 for Developers 42:03 – Post-Quantum Signature Schemes Explained 45:18 – Trade-offs in Quantum Security for Bitcoin 53:16 – Community Reactions to BIP 360 01:00:23 – The Future of Bitcoin in a Post Quantum World
1:08:25

BITCOIN RAILS #36: The Birth Story of ‘OPCAT’ | with proposal co-author Ethan ✨ is on BlueSky✨ Heilman 🐱 🔗 YOUTUBE: 🌿 SPOTIFY: As interest in Bitcoin Layer 2s skyrockets, the inclusion of OP_CAT — an opcode enabling concatenation of elements in the Bitcoin stack — has become a key technical upgrade to watch for its potential in the development of trustless bridges. OP_CAT co-author Ethan ✨ is on BlueSky✨ Heilman 🐱 and I sat down to discuss debate around this opcode — including why it’s controversial, the cultural environment shaping its future, and why some worry its broad expressivity could pose “unknown risks” to Bitcoin over time. More recently, Ethan co-authored BIP 360 with Hunter Beast 🕯️ — another controversial proposal aimed at addressing Bitcoin’s quantum vulnerabilities. Suffice it to say, there are few people with Ethan's experience in navigating Bitcoin politics and its shifting governance landscape as we move towards ossification over time. In this episode, we cover: - The origins of OP_CAT and why it was included and removed from early Bitcoin - What makes OP_CAT so powerful (and why that worries some developers) - Cultural shifts in Bitcoin governance as its developer community matures - The ‘great covenants debate’ + OPCAT vs. CTV - The path to BIP 360 and why Bitcoin should be ‘quantum ready’ This episode is powered by: - Best In Slot (Best in Slot | BRC2.0 🧑‍🍳), the leading API for Ordinals and BRC20 data aggregation and indexing - Spark (Lightspark), a statechains implementation leading the path towards institutional adoption of Bitcoin-powered payments - Citrea (Citrea), the leading Bitcoin Rollup technology and contributor to the BitVM alliance 📍 Timestamps 00:00 – Intro 00:45 – Bitcoin Privacy and the OP_CAT Proposal 03:18 – Technical Challenges of Adding New Opcodes 07:37 – Politics and Culture of Bitcoin Upgrades 28:46 – Quantum Computing Meets Bitcoin 37:48 – How Governments View Quantum Risk 39:06 – Breaking Down BIP 360 for Developers 42:03 – Post-Quantum Signature Schemes Explained 45:18 – Trade-offs in Quantum Security for Bitcoin 53:16 – Community Reactions to BIP 360 01:00:23 – The Future of Bitcoin in a Post Quantum World

Isabel Foxen Duke⚡️

13,231 views • 10 months ago

Is Quantum FUD BS? with James O'Beirne | SLP721 jamesob, Bitcoin developer joins me to discuss quantum hype vs reality, developer trade-offs, protocol upgrade challenges, and what it means for self-custody, UX, and Bitcoin’s long-term adoption. (00:00) - Intro (00:46) - What is the deal with quantum computing and Bitcoin? (05:05) - Advancing progress in quantum computing (09:43) - Is the quantum threat to Bitcoin around the corner? (11:57) - Quantum resistant schemes developed by Bitcoiners (15:45) - NIST and diverse views on Post-quantum cryptography (22:31) - The future of Bitcoin in a Post-quantum world (29:45) - 'Matt Corallo (Matt Corallo 🟠) Quantum Plan' (34:08) - A modest version of the Big Blocker view (38:41) - Covenants and Scaling Bitcoin (43:35) - Comparing OP_TEMPLATEHASH & OP_CTV (48:01) - The ‘Slow and Steady’ approach to Bitcoin development (55:19) - What’s the next adoption pathway for Bitcoin? (1:04:04) - AssumeUTXO, Utreexo & Floresta (1:07:20) - Why are so few people running Bitcoin nodes? (1:14:52) - Closing thoughts
1:18:57

Is Quantum FUD BS? with James O'Beirne | SLP721 jamesob, Bitcoin developer joins me to discuss quantum hype vs reality, developer trade-offs, protocol upgrade challenges, and what it means for self-custody, UX, and Bitcoin’s long-term adoption. (00:00) - Intro (00:46) - What is the deal with quantum computing and Bitcoin? (05:05) - Advancing progress in quantum computing (09:43) - Is the quantum threat to Bitcoin around the corner? (11:57) - Quantum resistant schemes developed by Bitcoiners (15:45) - NIST and diverse views on Post-quantum cryptography (22:31) - The future of Bitcoin in a Post-quantum world (29:45) - 'Matt Corallo (Matt Corallo 🟠) Quantum Plan' (34:08) - A modest version of the Big Blocker view (38:41) - Covenants and Scaling Bitcoin (43:35) - Comparing OP_TEMPLATEHASH & OP_CTV (48:01) - The ‘Slow and Steady’ approach to Bitcoin development (55:19) - What’s the next adoption pathway for Bitcoin? (1:04:04) - AssumeUTXO, Utreexo & Floresta (1:07:20) - Why are so few people running Bitcoin nodes? (1:14:52) - Closing thoughts

Stephan Livera

17,889 views • 5 months ago

BITCOIN RAILS EPISODE #18: MAKE BITCOIN QUANTUM RESISTANT | with BIP360 author Hunter Beast Hunter Beast 🕯️ Quantum computing is a complicated topic—one that incites equal amounts of fear and skepticism depending on who you talk to… especially in Bitcoin. In this episode, BIP360 author Hunter Beast wisely shares why the “truth is likely somewhere in the middle,” citing incremental advancements in quantum computing that may eventually pose a legitimate threat to some Bitcoin addresses—as well as steps we can take to protect ourselves in the short, medium and long term. The correct posture is to “be prepared, not scared,” says Hunter Beast 🕯️ Ultimately, the introduction of quantum resistant cryptography—via proposals like BIP360—will be needed for higher degrees of security. That said, individuals can mitigate personal risk substantially through proper address-use hygiene. This episode breaks down the specific challenges Bitcoin will face in the event of a quantum attack, the likelihood of an attack over time, and the steps we’ll need to take at the individual and communal level to ensure Bitcoin’s safety. This episode includes detailed discussion of: 1) How quantum computing could potentially affect Bitcoin public/private key cryptography—and technologies built on vulnerable addresses (e.g. Taproot) 2) Best practices for protecting yourself against quantum in the short and long term 3) Implications of vulnerable address types—e.g. what about Satoshi’s coins? 4) Deep Dive into BIP360 + proposed long-term solutions 5) Industry roadmaps for quantum computing + how banks and governments are preparing for “Q Day” As always, this episode can be viewed on Spotify or YouTuve—full episode in the comments or linktree in my bio. This episode is powered by Best In Slot—the leading API for Ordinals and BRC20 data aggregation and indexing. TIMESTAMPS: 00:00 Intro 02:05 What is quantum computing? 04:30 How could quantum threaten your Bitcoin wallet? 06:50 Addresses that are safe from quantum 09:13 Satoshi’s coins are in danger! 11:25 What happens if Satoshi’s coins are touched? 14:45 Do we softfork to shield Satoshi’s coins? 16:38 “Transitory inflation” for bitcoin after quantum 21:05 Why Taproot addresses are vulnerable 23:50 Do NOT reuse your Bitcoin addresses! 26:03 When will Quantum become a threat? 28:34 The long/short exposure attack; explained 31:45 Protection using private mempools 33:20 Why all the new Bitcoin L2s are in danger 37:45 Quantum is 5 to 10 years away, governments fear 40:34 Non-Bitcoin systems threatened by quantum 42:26 Centralized systems can adapt to quantum 43:50 Hunter’s BIP: Post quantum cryptography in Bitcoin 47:40 Hunter’s three new signature algorithms 53:48 Is new cryptography on Bitcoin risky? 56:33 Why not just stick to hash-based cryptography? 58:49 A 16X discount for quantum resistant addresses? 01:02:30 Creating quantum resistant multisig addresses 01:04:00 What is Frost? 01:06:50 The long process of approving a BIP 01:08:30 What developers think of Hunter’s BIP 01:10:00 Matt Corallo’s concerns with Hunter’s approach 01:11:00 Steps to implementing the BIP 360 01:17:00 Where to learn more about BIP 360 01:17:50 Who can push the button to change Bitcoin?
1:23:12

BITCOIN RAILS EPISODE #18: MAKE BITCOIN QUANTUM RESISTANT | with BIP360 author Hunter Beast Hunter Beast 🕯️ Quantum computing is a complicated topic—one that incites equal amounts of fear and skepticism depending on who you talk to… especially in Bitcoin. In this episode, BIP360 author Hunter Beast wisely shares why the “truth is likely somewhere in the middle,” citing incremental advancements in quantum computing that may eventually pose a legitimate threat to some Bitcoin addresses—as well as steps we can take to protect ourselves in the short, medium and long term. The correct posture is to “be prepared, not scared,” says Hunter Beast 🕯️ Ultimately, the introduction of quantum resistant cryptography—via proposals like BIP360—will be needed for higher degrees of security. That said, individuals can mitigate personal risk substantially through proper address-use hygiene. This episode breaks down the specific challenges Bitcoin will face in the event of a quantum attack, the likelihood of an attack over time, and the steps we’ll need to take at the individual and communal level to ensure Bitcoin’s safety. This episode includes detailed discussion of: 1) How quantum computing could potentially affect Bitcoin public/private key cryptography—and technologies built on vulnerable addresses (e.g. Taproot) 2) Best practices for protecting yourself against quantum in the short and long term 3) Implications of vulnerable address types—e.g. what about Satoshi’s coins? 4) Deep Dive into BIP360 + proposed long-term solutions 5) Industry roadmaps for quantum computing + how banks and governments are preparing for “Q Day” As always, this episode can be viewed on Spotify or YouTuve—full episode in the comments or linktree in my bio. This episode is powered by Best In Slot—the leading API for Ordinals and BRC20 data aggregation and indexing. TIMESTAMPS: 00:00 Intro 02:05 What is quantum computing? 04:30 How could quantum threaten your Bitcoin wallet? 06:50 Addresses that are safe from quantum 09:13 Satoshi’s coins are in danger! 11:25 What happens if Satoshi’s coins are touched? 14:45 Do we softfork to shield Satoshi’s coins? 16:38 “Transitory inflation” for bitcoin after quantum 21:05 Why Taproot addresses are vulnerable 23:50 Do NOT reuse your Bitcoin addresses! 26:03 When will Quantum become a threat? 28:34 The long/short exposure attack; explained 31:45 Protection using private mempools 33:20 Why all the new Bitcoin L2s are in danger 37:45 Quantum is 5 to 10 years away, governments fear 40:34 Non-Bitcoin systems threatened by quantum 42:26 Centralized systems can adapt to quantum 43:50 Hunter’s BIP: Post quantum cryptography in Bitcoin 47:40 Hunter’s three new signature algorithms 53:48 Is new cryptography on Bitcoin risky? 56:33 Why not just stick to hash-based cryptography? 58:49 A 16X discount for quantum resistant addresses? 01:02:30 Creating quantum resistant multisig addresses 01:04:00 What is Frost? 01:06:50 The long process of approving a BIP 01:08:30 What developers think of Hunter’s BIP 01:10:00 Matt Corallo’s concerns with Hunter’s approach 01:11:00 Steps to implementing the BIP 360 01:17:00 Where to learn more about BIP 360 01:17:50 Who can push the button to change Bitcoin?

Isabel Foxen Duke⚡️

31,130 views • 1 year ago

BITCOIN RAILS #69: ZERO-KNOWLEDGE PROOFS FOR POST-QUANTUM BITCOIN | with Benedikt Bünz 🔗 YOUTUBE: 🌿 SPOTIFY: While many Bitcoiners remain hopeful the network will embrace zero-knowledge proofs for protocol-level use cases, practical adoption has remained limited outside of BitVM and a handful of experimental proposals. Most of the world’s ZKP research has circled around Ethereum and other ecosystems, where significant resources have been dedicated to advancing these systems, particularly for scaling and privacy applications. One of the most notable contributors to this research is Benedikt Bünz ☕️ — professor of cryptography at NYU and collaborator of Dan Boneh, who together inarguably form one of the strongest blockchain-applied cryptography teams in the world. The pair recently announced they’ll be leading the new post-quantum cryptography unit localhost research — the first dedicated PQ research effort within a major Bitcoin development organization. With Benedikt leading the charge on the use of zero-knowledge proofs for post-quantum mitigation, the question emerges: will the post-quantum transition be the catalyst to finally bring zero-knowledge proofs to Bitcoin's core protocol? In more detail, Benedikt and I discuss: - Why ZKPs haven’t been widely adopted by the Bitcoin technical community — and why the threat of quantum computers may change that posture going forward - How ZKPs could be used for signature batching to address larger post-quantum signatures in Bitcoin’s post-quantum era - Why Bitcoiners will likely prioritize hash-based signatures as an initial post-quantum scheme — rather than more efficient but less proven alternatives (e.g., lattice-based) - How ZKPs have evolved over the last decade and may finally be ready for Bitcoin’s strict requirements around trust assumptions - Why Benedikt and Dan are teaming up with localhost research to create the first post-quantum cryptography unit within a major Bitcoin development organization + what they hope to accomplish This episode of Bitcoin Rails is brought to you by: LayerTwo Labs LayerTwo Labs — developing research, software, and technologies for scaling Bitcoin via the integration of Drivechains (BIP 300/301) Hashi on Sui — a primitive for executing Bitcoin DeFi transactions, without having to trust a federated bridge or other centralized entity BitBox BitBox — an open-source Bitcoin-only hardware wallet, with smooth UX and no compromises on security. Check out Bitbox [dot] swiss and use code BITCOINRAILS to get a discount TIMESTAMPS: 00:00 — Intro 00:22 — Benedikt's background 04:10 — How Benedikt got into Bitcoin and cryptography 07:42 — First ZK project: proving exchange solvency after Mt. Gox 16:01 — ZK proofs explained 27:43 — How security gets popular & ZK proofs in Bitcoin 35:49 — Other applications of ZK proofs for Bitcoin 40:15 — Why ZK proofs haven't been adopted in Bitcoin 50:46 — Why the Bitcoin post-quantum transition needs ZK proofs 01:07:00 — Cryptographic agility and why lattices win 01:18:00 — The size problem and how SNARKs solve it 01:33:57 — Proving a Bitcoin block in a laptop in 1.5 seconds 01:37:12 — Bitcoin as the primary quantum target 01:40:47 — ZK proofs for seed phrase recovery
1:43:41

BITCOIN RAILS #69: ZERO-KNOWLEDGE PROOFS FOR POST-QUANTUM BITCOIN | with Benedikt Bünz 🔗 YOUTUBE: 🌿 SPOTIFY: While many Bitcoiners remain hopeful the network will embrace zero-knowledge proofs for protocol-level use cases, practical adoption has remained limited outside of BitVM and a handful of experimental proposals. Most of the world’s ZKP research has circled around Ethereum and other ecosystems, where significant resources have been dedicated to advancing these systems, particularly for scaling and privacy applications. One of the most notable contributors to this research is Benedikt Bünz ☕️ — professor of cryptography at NYU and collaborator of Dan Boneh, who together inarguably form one of the strongest blockchain-applied cryptography teams in the world. The pair recently announced they’ll be leading the new post-quantum cryptography unit localhost research — the first dedicated PQ research effort within a major Bitcoin development organization. With Benedikt leading the charge on the use of zero-knowledge proofs for post-quantum mitigation, the question emerges: will the post-quantum transition be the catalyst to finally bring zero-knowledge proofs to Bitcoin's core protocol? In more detail, Benedikt and I discuss: - Why ZKPs haven’t been widely adopted by the Bitcoin technical community — and why the threat of quantum computers may change that posture going forward - How ZKPs could be used for signature batching to address larger post-quantum signatures in Bitcoin’s post-quantum era - Why Bitcoiners will likely prioritize hash-based signatures as an initial post-quantum scheme — rather than more efficient but less proven alternatives (e.g., lattice-based) - How ZKPs have evolved over the last decade and may finally be ready for Bitcoin’s strict requirements around trust assumptions - Why Benedikt and Dan are teaming up with localhost research to create the first post-quantum cryptography unit within a major Bitcoin development organization + what they hope to accomplish This episode of Bitcoin Rails is brought to you by: LayerTwo Labs LayerTwo Labs — developing research, software, and technologies for scaling Bitcoin via the integration of Drivechains (BIP 300/301) Hashi on Sui — a primitive for executing Bitcoin DeFi transactions, without having to trust a federated bridge or other centralized entity BitBox BitBox — an open-source Bitcoin-only hardware wallet, with smooth UX and no compromises on security. Check out Bitbox [dot] swiss and use code BITCOINRAILS to get a discount TIMESTAMPS: 00:00 — Intro 00:22 — Benedikt's background 04:10 — How Benedikt got into Bitcoin and cryptography 07:42 — First ZK project: proving exchange solvency after Mt. Gox 16:01 — ZK proofs explained 27:43 — How security gets popular & ZK proofs in Bitcoin 35:49 — Other applications of ZK proofs for Bitcoin 40:15 — Why ZK proofs haven't been adopted in Bitcoin 50:46 — Why the Bitcoin post-quantum transition needs ZK proofs 01:07:00 — Cryptographic agility and why lattices win 01:18:00 — The size problem and how SNARKs solve it 01:33:57 — Proving a Bitcoin block in a laptop in 1.5 seconds 01:37:12 — Bitcoin as the primary quantum target 01:40:47 — ZK proofs for seed phrase recovery

Isabel Foxen Duke⚡️

19,459 views • 12 days ago

BITCOIN RAILS #61: QUANTUM CRYPTOGRAPHY FOR BITCOIN | with Dan Boneh Dan Boneh 🔗 YOUTUBE: 🌿 SPOTIFY: One of the most prolific and influential cryptographers in the world, it’s difficult to fully quantify the impact that Dan Boneh has had on Bitcoin and digital assets more broadly. Through both his own research and his mentorship of some of the space’s most important contributors — e.g. Andrew Poelstra, Benedikt Bünz ☕️, and Robin Linus — few people have done more to shape the cryptographic foundations underlying modern blockchains and digital finance. More recently, Dan co-authored Google's widely discussed paper, “Securing Elliptic Curve Cryptocurrencies against Quantum Vulnerabilities,” which reduced prior estimates of the resources required to run Shor’s algorithm against the elliptic-curve cryptography used by Bitcoin. The paper reignited debate around quantum computing timelines and the long-term security assumptions behind modern cryptocurrencies. In this episode of Bitcoin Rails, Dan and I discuss the current state of quantum computing, its potential implications for Bitcoin, and how he believes the Bitcoin community should think about preparing for a post-quantum future over the coming decade and beyond. And yes, Dan shares his take on the “when quantum” question in the interview, among other key perspectives. This episode of Bitcoin Rails is brought to you by my NEW sponsors: LayerTwo Labs LayerTwo Labs — developing research, software, and technologies for scaling Bitcoin via the integration of Drivechains (BIP 300/301) Hashi on Sui — a primitive for executing Bitcoin Defi transactions, without having to trust a federated bridge or other centralized entity BitBox BitBox — an open-source Bitcoin-only hardware wallet, with smooth UX and no compromises on security. Check out Bitbox [dot] swiss and use code BITCOINRAILS to get a discount TIMESTAMPS: 00:00 — Intro and Dan’s history with cryptography and Bitcoin 11:44 — Shor's algorithm: how a 1994 paper became cryptography's most important threat 16:39 — Building a quantum computer: superconducting qubits vs neutral atoms 25:37 — When should we start worrying about quantum computers? The timeline debate 31:51 — Have we already reached quantum computing's “ahá” moment? 39:09 — Inside the Google paper: how Shor's algorithm was optimized 49:57 — The Bitcoin mempool attack and the 10-minute window 59:21 — Mitigation: what should Bitcoin do to prepare for quantum? 1:11:54 — Hash-based vs lattice-based signatures: Dan's case for lattice 1:23:15 — ZK proofs, BIP361, and what to do with Satoshi's coins 1:31:52 — Encrypted mempools and MEV 1:38:29 — Why Bitcoin will survive quantum and Dan's message to Bitcoin builders
1:44:02

BITCOIN RAILS #61: QUANTUM CRYPTOGRAPHY FOR BITCOIN | with Dan Boneh Dan Boneh 🔗 YOUTUBE: 🌿 SPOTIFY: One of the most prolific and influential cryptographers in the world, it’s difficult to fully quantify the impact that Dan Boneh has had on Bitcoin and digital assets more broadly. Through both his own research and his mentorship of some of the space’s most important contributors — e.g. Andrew Poelstra, Benedikt Bünz ☕️, and Robin Linus — few people have done more to shape the cryptographic foundations underlying modern blockchains and digital finance. More recently, Dan co-authored Google's widely discussed paper, “Securing Elliptic Curve Cryptocurrencies against Quantum Vulnerabilities,” which reduced prior estimates of the resources required to run Shor’s algorithm against the elliptic-curve cryptography used by Bitcoin. The paper reignited debate around quantum computing timelines and the long-term security assumptions behind modern cryptocurrencies. In this episode of Bitcoin Rails, Dan and I discuss the current state of quantum computing, its potential implications for Bitcoin, and how he believes the Bitcoin community should think about preparing for a post-quantum future over the coming decade and beyond. And yes, Dan shares his take on the “when quantum” question in the interview, among other key perspectives. This episode of Bitcoin Rails is brought to you by my NEW sponsors: LayerTwo Labs LayerTwo Labs — developing research, software, and technologies for scaling Bitcoin via the integration of Drivechains (BIP 300/301) Hashi on Sui — a primitive for executing Bitcoin Defi transactions, without having to trust a federated bridge or other centralized entity BitBox BitBox — an open-source Bitcoin-only hardware wallet, with smooth UX and no compromises on security. Check out Bitbox [dot] swiss and use code BITCOINRAILS to get a discount TIMESTAMPS: 00:00 — Intro and Dan’s history with cryptography and Bitcoin 11:44 — Shor's algorithm: how a 1994 paper became cryptography's most important threat 16:39 — Building a quantum computer: superconducting qubits vs neutral atoms 25:37 — When should we start worrying about quantum computers? The timeline debate 31:51 — Have we already reached quantum computing's “ahá” moment? 39:09 — Inside the Google paper: how Shor's algorithm was optimized 49:57 — The Bitcoin mempool attack and the 10-minute window 59:21 — Mitigation: what should Bitcoin do to prepare for quantum? 1:11:54 — Hash-based vs lattice-based signatures: Dan's case for lattice 1:23:15 — ZK proofs, BIP361, and what to do with Satoshi's coins 1:31:52 — Encrypted mempools and MEV 1:38:29 — Why Bitcoin will survive quantum and Dan's message to Bitcoin builders

Isabel Foxen Duke⚡️

113,570 views • 2 months ago

Bitcoin Rails x MARA Foundation presents: THE POLITICS OF POST-QUANTUM BITCOIN | with Nic Carter 🔗 YouTube: 🌿Spotify: Less than nine months ago, investor and researcher nic carter sparked one of the most heated debates in Bitcoin's recent history — when he published a series of essays arguing that the network should prepare for its post-quantum transition sooner rather than later. While the essays broadly persuaded investors and institutions, many of Bitcoin's technical leaders dismissed them as alarmist — that is, until Google's quantum resource estimates were updated just a few months later. Crediting Google's paper with "shifting the Overton Window" on quantum and strengthening the case for post-quantum preparation, Nic shares his thoughts on the delicate politics surrounding this transition — and how he believes a quantum attack and response could potentially play out in practice. In more detail, this special episode of Bitcoin Rails X MARA Foundation TV covers: - How a quantum attack could realistically unfold + the different ways stakeholder groups might respond - The constitutional tensions surfaced by quantum vulnerable coins and how incentives will ultimately dictate outcomes - How a state actor could facilitate "benevolent" quantum recovery and eliminate the need for a contentious fork - The role and influence of institutional investors as key players in quantum outcomes - How Bitcoin's post-quantum transition could permanently reshape Bitcoin’s governance structures ...or build them from the ground up TIMESTAMPS: 00:00 — Intro 00:18 — Nick's path from Fidelity to founding Castle Island 07:00 — How quantum went from FUD to Nick's biggest concern 12:45 — Why Core devs refuse to be accountable 26:09 — Investors vs developers: who took quantum seriously first 32:33 — Bitcoin's "pre-constitutional" governance problem 39:18 — Satoshi's coins: liquidate, burn, slow-bleed, or let the government take them 47:36 — Why there will never be another Bitcoin fork war 01:01:35 — Bitcoin is about to choose the wrong signature scheme 01:09:42 — The actual deadline: why PQ signatures need to ship in 2026 01:13:09 — The happy path, the coup, and why Bitcoin won't die
1:15:19

Bitcoin Rails x MARA Foundation presents: THE POLITICS OF POST-QUANTUM BITCOIN | with Nic Carter 🔗 YouTube: 🌿Spotify: Less than nine months ago, investor and researcher nic carter sparked one of the most heated debates in Bitcoin's recent history — when he published a series of essays arguing that the network should prepare for its post-quantum transition sooner rather than later. While the essays broadly persuaded investors and institutions, many of Bitcoin's technical leaders dismissed them as alarmist — that is, until Google's quantum resource estimates were updated just a few months later. Crediting Google's paper with "shifting the Overton Window" on quantum and strengthening the case for post-quantum preparation, Nic shares his thoughts on the delicate politics surrounding this transition — and how he believes a quantum attack and response could potentially play out in practice. In more detail, this special episode of Bitcoin Rails X MARA Foundation TV covers: - How a quantum attack could realistically unfold + the different ways stakeholder groups might respond - The constitutional tensions surfaced by quantum vulnerable coins and how incentives will ultimately dictate outcomes - How a state actor could facilitate "benevolent" quantum recovery and eliminate the need for a contentious fork - The role and influence of institutional investors as key players in quantum outcomes - How Bitcoin's post-quantum transition could permanently reshape Bitcoin’s governance structures ...or build them from the ground up TIMESTAMPS: 00:00 — Intro 00:18 — Nick's path from Fidelity to founding Castle Island 07:00 — How quantum went from FUD to Nick's biggest concern 12:45 — Why Core devs refuse to be accountable 26:09 — Investors vs developers: who took quantum seriously first 32:33 — Bitcoin's "pre-constitutional" governance problem 39:18 — Satoshi's coins: liquidate, burn, slow-bleed, or let the government take them 47:36 — Why there will never be another Bitcoin fork war 01:01:35 — Bitcoin is about to choose the wrong signature scheme 01:09:42 — The actual deadline: why PQ signatures need to ship in 2026 01:13:09 — The happy path, the coup, and why Bitcoin won't die

Isabel Foxen Duke⚡️

50,571 views • 25 days ago

BITCOIN RAILS #37: The Birth of BRC2.0: Bitcoin’s Programmable Asset Layer | with Best in Slot | BRC2.0 🧑‍🍳 CEO Binari 🔗 YOUTUBE: 🌿 SPOTIFY: Programmable BRC20 tokens, dubbed “BRC2.0,” launched a few short weeks ago after more than a year of building and anticipation. This effort was spearheaded by BRC20 lead-maintainer team Best in Slot | BRC2.0 🧑‍🍳, who joined the BRC20 core team after their development of open source Ordinals indexer “OPI,” and solidifying their title as a leading Ordinals infrastructure provider. In this episode, I sat down with Best In Slot CEO Binari to hear the birth story of “BRC2.0,” and learn how the ground was laid for programmable native assets on Bitcoin within a few short months of BRC20's launch in 2023. Having worked closely with this team and on this protocol via Layer 1 Foundation for almost two years now, this interview is particularly close to my heart. A must-watch for any Ordinals-historians out there, I can’t wait to hear your thoughts on this little-known history of BRC20, and the future of “BRC2.0.” Shouts out in this episode to domo UniSat - wallet, explorer & extension for bitcoin. Sats Names and other key figures in the development of Ordinals-based metaprotocols. In this episode, we cover: - How the idea of programmable BRC20 assets (and programmable native assets in general) was born shortly after the launch of BRC20 in late 2023 - Why Domo connected with the BestInSlot team early on in BRC20’s history, and advocated for their inclusion as core maintainers of the protocol next to marketplace UniSat - wallet, explorer & extension for bitcoin. - The truth about the BRC20 “indexer wars” and why “he who holds the users, holds the power” - Why Best In Slot refused millions in venture funding despite being one of the most highly valued companies in the Ordinals space over the last three years - How BRC2.0 will differentiate itself by focusing on institutional-grade financial use-cases... and not the low hanging fruit of meme coins. This episode is powered by: - Best In Slot (Best in Slot | BRC2.0 🧑‍🍳), the leading API for Ordinals and BRC20 data aggregation and indexing - Spark (Lightspark), a statechains implementation leading the path towards institutional adoption of Bitcoin-powered payments - Citrea (Citrea | Mainnet Live 🍊🍋), the leading Bitcoin Rollup technology and contributor to the BitVM alliance 📍 Timestamps 00:00 Intro 00:52 Bitcoin as a time machine & new way of thinking about time 02:32 Launching BRC 2.0 & building a minimum viable ecosystem 05:00 TLDR: What is BRC 2.0? 05:31 Ordinals & the return to Bitcoin building 08:00 First exposure to Ethereum at Burning Man 10:16 Indexing, NFTs, and DeFi vision for scale 11:57 India trip, Ordinals hype, and rediscovering Bitcoin 15:33 Canonical indexers & why they matter for protocols 21:03 Early BRC 20 experiments & hype cycle 40:02 BRC 2.0 mainnet launch 54:07 Future of Best in Slot & Bitcoin applications #ordinals #BRC20
1:04:47

BITCOIN RAILS #37: The Birth of BRC2.0: Bitcoin’s Programmable Asset Layer | with Best in Slot | BRC2.0 🧑‍🍳 CEO Binari 🔗 YOUTUBE: 🌿 SPOTIFY: Programmable BRC20 tokens, dubbed “BRC2.0,” launched a few short weeks ago after more than a year of building and anticipation. This effort was spearheaded by BRC20 lead-maintainer team Best in Slot | BRC2.0 🧑‍🍳, who joined the BRC20 core team after their development of open source Ordinals indexer “OPI,” and solidifying their title as a leading Ordinals infrastructure provider. In this episode, I sat down with Best In Slot CEO Binari to hear the birth story of “BRC2.0,” and learn how the ground was laid for programmable native assets on Bitcoin within a few short months of BRC20's launch in 2023. Having worked closely with this team and on this protocol via Layer 1 Foundation for almost two years now, this interview is particularly close to my heart. A must-watch for any Ordinals-historians out there, I can’t wait to hear your thoughts on this little-known history of BRC20, and the future of “BRC2.0.” Shouts out in this episode to domo UniSat - wallet, explorer & extension for bitcoin. Sats Names and other key figures in the development of Ordinals-based metaprotocols. In this episode, we cover: - How the idea of programmable BRC20 assets (and programmable native assets in general) was born shortly after the launch of BRC20 in late 2023 - Why Domo connected with the BestInSlot team early on in BRC20’s history, and advocated for their inclusion as core maintainers of the protocol next to marketplace UniSat - wallet, explorer & extension for bitcoin. - The truth about the BRC20 “indexer wars” and why “he who holds the users, holds the power” - Why Best In Slot refused millions in venture funding despite being one of the most highly valued companies in the Ordinals space over the last three years - How BRC2.0 will differentiate itself by focusing on institutional-grade financial use-cases... and not the low hanging fruit of meme coins. This episode is powered by: - Best In Slot (Best in Slot | BRC2.0 🧑‍🍳), the leading API for Ordinals and BRC20 data aggregation and indexing - Spark (Lightspark), a statechains implementation leading the path towards institutional adoption of Bitcoin-powered payments - Citrea (Citrea | Mainnet Live 🍊🍋), the leading Bitcoin Rollup technology and contributor to the BitVM alliance 📍 Timestamps 00:00 Intro 00:52 Bitcoin as a time machine & new way of thinking about time 02:32 Launching BRC 2.0 & building a minimum viable ecosystem 05:00 TLDR: What is BRC 2.0? 05:31 Ordinals & the return to Bitcoin building 08:00 First exposure to Ethereum at Burning Man 10:16 Indexing, NFTs, and DeFi vision for scale 11:57 India trip, Ordinals hype, and rediscovering Bitcoin 15:33 Canonical indexers & why they matter for protocols 21:03 Early BRC 20 experiments & hype cycle 40:02 BRC 2.0 mainnet launch 54:07 Future of Best in Slot & Bitcoin applications #ordinals #BRC20

Isabel Foxen Duke⚡️

20,881 views • 9 months ago

“Only two steps” required to make Bitcoin quantum-resistant? In this Unchained episode, Matt Corallo 🟠 joins me to discuss: ❌ Why he thinks Nic Carter is wrong about the quantum threat to Bitcoin ⛔ Why he disagrees with Nic on his ranking of Bitcoin’s most influential developers 😱 Why “the community at that time” will deal with the quantum threat 🥷 Why making bitcoin post-quantum might require a block size increase 🔥 Why he believes “you burn old lost coins, you burn anyone who hasn't migrated” Timestamps: 🚀0:00 Introduction ⚔️02:16 What Matt says Nic is getting wrong about the quantum threat to Bitcoin 🤔08:59 What Matt says Bitcoin's quantum security roadmap could look like 🫠19:04 Do Bitcoin Core developers have any timelines? 🤯29:34 Are there only two steps required to quantum-proof Bitcoin? 📍34:04 Matt weighs in on public comments from other Bitcoin developers on the quantum threat ⁉️47:37 Why Bitcoin Core has not announced a quantum team 👀53:57 Can BlackRock “fire” Bitcoin developers? 💫58:07 What Matt says is the North Star for Bitcoin developers 🔥1:07:42 What Matt thinks will happen to lost bitcoins 🤔1:08:26 Is there any plan to secure Bitcoin against AI? 👀1:11:31 Will Bitcoin and Ethereum align on quantum security?
1:17:34

“Only two steps” required to make Bitcoin quantum-resistant? In this Unchained episode, Matt Corallo 🟠 joins me to discuss: ❌ Why he thinks Nic Carter is wrong about the quantum threat to Bitcoin ⛔ Why he disagrees with Nic on his ranking of Bitcoin’s most influential developers 😱 Why “the community at that time” will deal with the quantum threat 🥷 Why making bitcoin post-quantum might require a block size increase 🔥 Why he believes “you burn old lost coins, you burn anyone who hasn't migrated” Timestamps: 🚀0:00 Introduction ⚔️02:16 What Matt says Nic is getting wrong about the quantum threat to Bitcoin 🤔08:59 What Matt says Bitcoin's quantum security roadmap could look like 🫠19:04 Do Bitcoin Core developers have any timelines? 🤯29:34 Are there only two steps required to quantum-proof Bitcoin? 📍34:04 Matt weighs in on public comments from other Bitcoin developers on the quantum threat ⁉️47:37 Why Bitcoin Core has not announced a quantum team 👀53:57 Can BlackRock “fire” Bitcoin developers? 💫58:07 What Matt says is the North Star for Bitcoin developers 🔥1:07:42 What Matt thinks will happen to lost bitcoins 🤔1:08:26 Is there any plan to secure Bitcoin against AI? 👀1:11:31 Will Bitcoin and Ethereum align on quantum security?

Laura Shin

19,795 views • 5 months ago

BITCOIN RAILS #50: HISTORY OF SEGWIT & TAPROOT | with Pieter Wuille 🔗 YOUTUBE: A primary maintainer of Bitcoin Core from 2011-2022, Pieter Wuille is arguably the most influential developer in Bitcoin’s history since Satoshi himself. After receiving keys to the Bitcoin codebase from Gavin Andresen, who was tasked with maintaining the codebase by Satoshi Nakamoto, Pieter went on to implement some of Bitcoin’s most dramatic and influential upgrades, including but not limited to: - Implementation of Bitcoin’s Taproot and Segwit upgrades - Implementation of libsecp256k + Bitcoin’s unique encoding structure for the cryptography securing all Bitcoin public/private keys - The first import/export feature for Bitcoin private keys into Bitcoin (now Bitcoin Core) - Development of hierarchical deterministic (HD) wallets, enabling backups via a single seedphrase and paving the way for seedphrases themselves - DER signatures, Miniscript, and so much more A truly special episode of Bitcoin Rails, this is a rare long-form interview with one of the most important historical figures in the arc of Bitcoin’s development. Pieter and I walk through how Bitcoin consensus works in practice, the history of Bitcoin's most critical early developments, and the key role of his good friend, Greg Maxwell, nearly every step of the way. This episode of Bitcoin Rails is powered by: — Best In Slot (Best in Slot | BRC2.0 🧑‍🍳) - the leading API for Ordinals and BRC-20 data aggregation and indexing. — Spark (Lightspark) - a statechains implementation advancing Bitcoin-powered payments. — Citrea (Citrea | Mainnet Live 🍊🍋) - a leading Bitcoin rollup technology and BitVM alliance contributor. TIMESTAMPS: 00:00 Intro 00:42 Early Days in Bitcoin 01:25 First Contributions to Bitcoin Core 04:38 Challenges and Innovations in Bitcoin Development 06:54 The Hal Finney Challenge 12:16 Bitcoin Core Contributors Back Then 14:18 The Creation of HD Wallets and Seed Phrases 17:47 Greg Maxwell Role and Relationship 21:00 Implementing Libsecp256k1 28:39 Why Did Satoshi Choose ECDSA 33:34 Addressing OpenSSL Issues 40:41 Why Pieter Wrote BIP 66 47:54 BIP 103 Proposal and Initial Reactions 49:57 SegWit Development and Implementation 01:05:39 Taproot's History, Details, and Benefits 01:11:09 Why Taproot Has No Hashed Addresses 01:16:55 Pieter's Thoughts on BitVM and other non-softfork dependent scaling solutions cc Robin Linus 01:18:27 Non-Soft Fork Scaling Solutions 01:23:03 Future Consensus Changes and Challenges 01:25:28 Bitcoin's Miner Centralization and Security Concerns (e.g. MEV) cc Matt Corallo 🟠 01:34:48 Miniscript: Simplifying Bitcoin Script? cc Rob Hamilton
1:40:30

BITCOIN RAILS #50: HISTORY OF SEGWIT & TAPROOT | with Pieter Wuille 🔗 YOUTUBE: A primary maintainer of Bitcoin Core from 2011-2022, Pieter Wuille is arguably the most influential developer in Bitcoin’s history since Satoshi himself. After receiving keys to the Bitcoin codebase from Gavin Andresen, who was tasked with maintaining the codebase by Satoshi Nakamoto, Pieter went on to implement some of Bitcoin’s most dramatic and influential upgrades, including but not limited to: - Implementation of Bitcoin’s Taproot and Segwit upgrades - Implementation of libsecp256k + Bitcoin’s unique encoding structure for the cryptography securing all Bitcoin public/private keys - The first import/export feature for Bitcoin private keys into Bitcoin (now Bitcoin Core) - Development of hierarchical deterministic (HD) wallets, enabling backups via a single seedphrase and paving the way for seedphrases themselves - DER signatures, Miniscript, and so much more A truly special episode of Bitcoin Rails, this is a rare long-form interview with one of the most important historical figures in the arc of Bitcoin’s development. Pieter and I walk through how Bitcoin consensus works in practice, the history of Bitcoin's most critical early developments, and the key role of his good friend, Greg Maxwell, nearly every step of the way. This episode of Bitcoin Rails is powered by: — Best In Slot (Best in Slot | BRC2.0 🧑‍🍳) - the leading API for Ordinals and BRC-20 data aggregation and indexing. — Spark (Lightspark) - a statechains implementation advancing Bitcoin-powered payments. — Citrea (Citrea | Mainnet Live 🍊🍋) - a leading Bitcoin rollup technology and BitVM alliance contributor. TIMESTAMPS: 00:00 Intro 00:42 Early Days in Bitcoin 01:25 First Contributions to Bitcoin Core 04:38 Challenges and Innovations in Bitcoin Development 06:54 The Hal Finney Challenge 12:16 Bitcoin Core Contributors Back Then 14:18 The Creation of HD Wallets and Seed Phrases 17:47 Greg Maxwell Role and Relationship 21:00 Implementing Libsecp256k1 28:39 Why Did Satoshi Choose ECDSA 33:34 Addressing OpenSSL Issues 40:41 Why Pieter Wrote BIP 66 47:54 BIP 103 Proposal and Initial Reactions 49:57 SegWit Development and Implementation 01:05:39 Taproot's History, Details, and Benefits 01:11:09 Why Taproot Has No Hashed Addresses 01:16:55 Pieter's Thoughts on BitVM and other non-softfork dependent scaling solutions cc Robin Linus 01:18:27 Non-Soft Fork Scaling Solutions 01:23:03 Future Consensus Changes and Challenges 01:25:28 Bitcoin's Miner Centralization and Security Concerns (e.g. MEV) cc Matt Corallo 🟠 01:34:48 Miniscript: Simplifying Bitcoin Script? cc Rob Hamilton

Isabel Foxen Duke⚡️

43,688 views • 5 months ago

BITCOIN RAILS #62: BITCOIN'S 3 BIGGEST CHALLENGES | with Neha Narula Director of Digital Currency Initiative (DCI) Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) 🔗 YOUTUBE: 🌱 SPOTIFY: Neha Narula is the Director of the MIT Digital Currency Initiative, where she focuses on Bitcoin research and the broader design tradeoffs of decentralized money systems. Her work often centers on what Bitcoin gets right—and where it runs into hard limits—especially around scaling, decentralization, and how systems behave as global demand increases. In this interview, Neha and I explore longer-term risks to Bitcoin—including advancements in quantum computing and the implications of a diminishing block subsidy—as well as the ongoing challenge of scaling Bitcoin without losing access to self-custody. A thoughtful conversation on how Bitcoin may change in the coming years, we also explore its social and governance dynamics—including tensions within the development community over protocol changes, scaling philosophies, and the future direction of the system. This episode of Bitcoin Rails is brought to you by: LayerTwo Labs LayerTwo Labs — developing research, software, and technologies for scaling Bitcoin via the integration of Drivechains (BIP 300/301) Hashi on Sui — a primitive for executing Bitcoin Defi transactions, without having to trust a federated bridge or other centralized entity BitBox BitBox— an open-source Bitcoin-only hardware wallet, with smooth UX and no compromises on security. Check out Bitbox [dot] swiss and use code BITCOINRAILS to get a discount TIMESTAMPS: 00:00 Intro 00:17 Neha’s Origins 02:26 Bitcoin to MIT 04:40 Media Lab Culture and Mission 11:34 CBDCs as Digital Cash Debate 24:42 Funding Model and Bitcoin Security Budget 29:55 Reorg Risk and Quantum Computing 32:14 Bitcoin Dev Funding Map 42:49 Governance and Corporate Stakes 50:23 Quantum Tradeoffs Framework 56:02 Post Quantum Proposals 58:59 Prioritize PQ Transactions 01:00:54 Satoshi Coins Debate 01:02:12 Mining Incentives And Price 01:08:08 Corporate Funding And Governance 01:10:54 Scaling Self Custody And L2s 01:20:30 Bitcoin Kernel And Wrap Up
1:22:57

BITCOIN RAILS #62: BITCOIN'S 3 BIGGEST CHALLENGES | with Neha Narula Director of Digital Currency Initiative (DCI) Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) 🔗 YOUTUBE: 🌱 SPOTIFY: Neha Narula is the Director of the MIT Digital Currency Initiative, where she focuses on Bitcoin research and the broader design tradeoffs of decentralized money systems. Her work often centers on what Bitcoin gets right—and where it runs into hard limits—especially around scaling, decentralization, and how systems behave as global demand increases. In this interview, Neha and I explore longer-term risks to Bitcoin—including advancements in quantum computing and the implications of a diminishing block subsidy—as well as the ongoing challenge of scaling Bitcoin without losing access to self-custody. A thoughtful conversation on how Bitcoin may change in the coming years, we also explore its social and governance dynamics—including tensions within the development community over protocol changes, scaling philosophies, and the future direction of the system. This episode of Bitcoin Rails is brought to you by: LayerTwo Labs LayerTwo Labs — developing research, software, and technologies for scaling Bitcoin via the integration of Drivechains (BIP 300/301) Hashi on Sui — a primitive for executing Bitcoin Defi transactions, without having to trust a federated bridge or other centralized entity BitBox BitBox— an open-source Bitcoin-only hardware wallet, with smooth UX and no compromises on security. Check out Bitbox [dot] swiss and use code BITCOINRAILS to get a discount TIMESTAMPS: 00:00 Intro 00:17 Neha’s Origins 02:26 Bitcoin to MIT 04:40 Media Lab Culture and Mission 11:34 CBDCs as Digital Cash Debate 24:42 Funding Model and Bitcoin Security Budget 29:55 Reorg Risk and Quantum Computing 32:14 Bitcoin Dev Funding Map 42:49 Governance and Corporate Stakes 50:23 Quantum Tradeoffs Framework 56:02 Post Quantum Proposals 58:59 Prioritize PQ Transactions 01:00:54 Satoshi Coins Debate 01:02:12 Mining Incentives And Price 01:08:08 Corporate Funding And Governance 01:10:54 Scaling Self Custody And L2s 01:20:30 Bitcoin Kernel And Wrap Up

Isabel Foxen Duke⚡️

24,344 views • 2 months ago

BITCOIN RAILS #59: Post-Quantum Bitcoin Signatures (+ their tradeoffs) | with BIP 360 co-author Ethan ✨ is on BlueSky✨ Heilman 🐱 and Blockstream Head of Research Jonas Nick 🔗 YOUTUBE: 🌿 SPOTIFY: According to BIP 360 co-author Ethan Heilman, Bitcoin needs a minimum of two soft forks to become quantum resistant: P2MR (or an output type that can safely execute PQ signatures) + a post-quantum checksig (signature scheme). Ethan and the BIP 360 team (including myself and Hunter Beast 🕯️) introduced the P2MR part via a BIP 360 update late last year—but the question remains, what’s the most appropriate PQ signature scheme for Bitcoin? They all have substantive tradeoffs, but hash-based signatures seem to be leading technical discourse—likely due to recent optimizations by Jonas Nick and the broader Blockstream research team. It was an honor to sit down with both of these men - arguably the two most influential and productive cryptographers in Bitcoin quantum mitigation right now - for an in-depth review of the leading PQ signature schemes and a temperature check on Bitcoin’s post-quantum planning process. TBH, if you want to skip the noise and jump straight to the signal on quantum, this is the interview to watch. In this episode, we discuss: - What needs to happen at the soft fork, infra, and mitigation levels to fully quantum-harden Bitcoin - Recent updates to BIP 360 + breakdown of the leading hash-based signatures schemes for Bitcoin (SHRINCS + SHRIMPS) - Why we may actually get consensus around a stateful scheme for Bitcoin - Comparisons of hash-based signatures vs Lattice and Isogeny-based schemes - Assessing the risks of both waiting too long and acting too fast (and why quantum is a better threat to be facing than a potential classical attack) This episode of Bitcoin Rails is brought to you by my NEW sponsors: - LayerTwo Labs LayerTwo Labs — developing research, software, and technologies for scaling Bitcoin via the integration of Drivechains (BIP 300/301) - Hashi on Sui — a primitive for executing Bitcoin Defi transactions, without having to trust a federated bridge or other centralized entity - BitBox BitBox — an open-source Bitcoin-only hardware wallet, with smooth UX and no compromises on security. Check out Bitbox [dot] swiss and use code BITCOINRAILS to get a discount TIMESTAMPS: 00:00 Intro 02:18 Ethan’s Quantum Wakeup 05:18 How Blockstream Enters Post Quantum 09:25 BIP 360 Explained 12:11 How Bitcoin Transitions to PQ 17:35 Choosing Post Quantum Signatures 23:20 How Blockstream Created SHRINCS 27:22 Signature Budgets Importance Explained 41:13 What are SHRIMPS? 44:51 SHRIMPS vs SHRINCS 47:48 Why SLH-DSA Alone Won’t Cut It 49:24 Is a SHRIMPS + SHRINCS BIP Coming? 51:51 Blockstream’s Big Plans for Liquid 59:04 Quantum Readiness Roadmap 01:02:22 Importance of a PQ Recovery Plan 01:05:35 How Long Would a PQ Migration Take 01:11:17 Quantum Watchlist Recommendations
1:18:04

BITCOIN RAILS #59: Post-Quantum Bitcoin Signatures (+ their tradeoffs) | with BIP 360 co-author Ethan ✨ is on BlueSky✨ Heilman 🐱 and Blockstream Head of Research Jonas Nick 🔗 YOUTUBE: 🌿 SPOTIFY: According to BIP 360 co-author Ethan Heilman, Bitcoin needs a minimum of two soft forks to become quantum resistant: P2MR (or an output type that can safely execute PQ signatures) + a post-quantum checksig (signature scheme). Ethan and the BIP 360 team (including myself and Hunter Beast 🕯️) introduced the P2MR part via a BIP 360 update late last year—but the question remains, what’s the most appropriate PQ signature scheme for Bitcoin? They all have substantive tradeoffs, but hash-based signatures seem to be leading technical discourse—likely due to recent optimizations by Jonas Nick and the broader Blockstream research team. It was an honor to sit down with both of these men - arguably the two most influential and productive cryptographers in Bitcoin quantum mitigation right now - for an in-depth review of the leading PQ signature schemes and a temperature check on Bitcoin’s post-quantum planning process. TBH, if you want to skip the noise and jump straight to the signal on quantum, this is the interview to watch. In this episode, we discuss: - What needs to happen at the soft fork, infra, and mitigation levels to fully quantum-harden Bitcoin - Recent updates to BIP 360 + breakdown of the leading hash-based signatures schemes for Bitcoin (SHRINCS + SHRIMPS) - Why we may actually get consensus around a stateful scheme for Bitcoin - Comparisons of hash-based signatures vs Lattice and Isogeny-based schemes - Assessing the risks of both waiting too long and acting too fast (and why quantum is a better threat to be facing than a potential classical attack) This episode of Bitcoin Rails is brought to you by my NEW sponsors: - LayerTwo Labs LayerTwo Labs — developing research, software, and technologies for scaling Bitcoin via the integration of Drivechains (BIP 300/301) - Hashi on Sui — a primitive for executing Bitcoin Defi transactions, without having to trust a federated bridge or other centralized entity - BitBox BitBox — an open-source Bitcoin-only hardware wallet, with smooth UX and no compromises on security. Check out Bitbox [dot] swiss and use code BITCOINRAILS to get a discount TIMESTAMPS: 00:00 Intro 02:18 Ethan’s Quantum Wakeup 05:18 How Blockstream Enters Post Quantum 09:25 BIP 360 Explained 12:11 How Bitcoin Transitions to PQ 17:35 Choosing Post Quantum Signatures 23:20 How Blockstream Created SHRINCS 27:22 Signature Budgets Importance Explained 41:13 What are SHRIMPS? 44:51 SHRIMPS vs SHRINCS 47:48 Why SLH-DSA Alone Won’t Cut It 49:24 Is a SHRIMPS + SHRINCS BIP Coming? 51:51 Blockstream’s Big Plans for Liquid 59:04 Quantum Readiness Roadmap 01:02:22 Importance of a PQ Recovery Plan 01:05:35 How Long Would a PQ Migration Take 01:11:17 Quantum Watchlist Recommendations

Isabel Foxen Duke⚡️

23,783 views • 2 months ago

What do Bitcoiners do about Quantum? with Matt Corallo | SLP719 Matt Corallo 🟠, Bitcoin & Lightning developer at Spiral joins me to discuss the threat of Q-Day on Bitcoin, and his ideas on how to gracefully deal with it. (00:00) - Intro (00:51) - Quantum computing timelines (03:38) - Are Bitcoin developers taking the quantum threat seriously? (07:41) - Evaluating the quantum threat (10:00) - The 'Matt Corallo Quantum Plan' (17:48) - Future community decisions on quantum security (20:12) - Will Bitcoin need a soft fork? (23:30) - Market response to quantum threat (28:15) - The role of seed phrases in quantum security (33:40) - Post quantum cryptographic schemes (37:23) - Patoshi miner adapting to Q-Day (43:25) - Which public cryptography scheme is most suitable? (50:20) - Closing thoughts
51:08

What do Bitcoiners do about Quantum? with Matt Corallo | SLP719 Matt Corallo 🟠, Bitcoin & Lightning developer at Spiral joins me to discuss the threat of Q-Day on Bitcoin, and his ideas on how to gracefully deal with it. (00:00) - Intro (00:51) - Quantum computing timelines (03:38) - Are Bitcoin developers taking the quantum threat seriously? (07:41) - Evaluating the quantum threat (10:00) - The 'Matt Corallo Quantum Plan' (17:48) - Future community decisions on quantum security (20:12) - Will Bitcoin need a soft fork? (23:30) - Market response to quantum threat (28:15) - The role of seed phrases in quantum security (33:40) - Post quantum cryptographic schemes (37:23) - Patoshi miner adapting to Q-Day (43:25) - Which public cryptography scheme is most suitable? (50:20) - Closing thoughts

Stephan Livera

23,851 views • 5 months ago

Hash-based signatures for Bitcoin's post-quantum future? with Jonas Nick | SLP713 Bitcoin researcher Blockstream and bitcoin/secp256k1 contributor, Jonas Nick joins me to discuss how quantum computing could impact Bitcoin’s security. We explore post-quantum cryptography, hash-based signatures, impact on hardware wallets, the controversial block size trade-offs and more. (00:00) - Intro (01:49) - How real is quantum risk to Bitcoin? (04:39) - When could quantum pose a threat to Bitcoin’s cryptography? (09:56) - Long range vs Short range attacks (12:37) - How many coins are vulnerable to Long range attacks? (14:12) - Different types of cryptography and exploring Hash-based signature schemes (17:00) - Categories of Hash-based signature scheme and their pros & cons (23:42) - How do Hash-based signatures work? (32:14) - Would Lightning, Multi-sig, Taproot, Silent Payments, Atomic swaps work in a post-quantum world? (38:50) - What are Adaptor signatures & how do they affect atomic swapping? (41:27) - Will we need new Bitcoin hardware wallets?; Signature production & verification (44:41) - Signature size and Bitcoin block capacity implications (46:52) - Should we revisit the block size conversation? (54:57) - Overview of SPHINCS+ & SHRINCS (59:49) - Transitioning to post-quantum signature schemes; Overview of BIP 360 (1:09:06) - Closing thoughts
1:12:29

Hash-based signatures for Bitcoin's post-quantum future? with Jonas Nick | SLP713 Bitcoin researcher Blockstream and bitcoin/secp256k1 contributor, Jonas Nick joins me to discuss how quantum computing could impact Bitcoin’s security. We explore post-quantum cryptography, hash-based signatures, impact on hardware wallets, the controversial block size trade-offs and more. (00:00) - Intro (01:49) - How real is quantum risk to Bitcoin? (04:39) - When could quantum pose a threat to Bitcoin’s cryptography? (09:56) - Long range vs Short range attacks (12:37) - How many coins are vulnerable to Long range attacks? (14:12) - Different types of cryptography and exploring Hash-based signature schemes (17:00) - Categories of Hash-based signature scheme and their pros & cons (23:42) - How do Hash-based signatures work? (32:14) - Would Lightning, Multi-sig, Taproot, Silent Payments, Atomic swaps work in a post-quantum world? (38:50) - What are Adaptor signatures & how do they affect atomic swapping? (41:27) - Will we need new Bitcoin hardware wallets?; Signature production & verification (44:41) - Signature size and Bitcoin block capacity implications (46:52) - Should we revisit the block size conversation? (54:57) - Overview of SPHINCS+ & SHRINCS (59:49) - Transitioning to post-quantum signature schemes; Overview of BIP 360 (1:09:06) - Closing thoughts

Stephan Livera

45,684 views • 6 months ago

BITCOIN RAILS #43: A HISTORY OF “SPAM” on BITCOIN | with Peter Todd 🔗 YOUTUBE: 🌿 SPOTIFY: “You cannot prevent arbitrary data from being published in Bitcoin transactions. Even at the consensus level…It’s mathematically impossible.” Legendary Bitcoin contributor since 2009 and self-described "weirdo with a fine arts degree," Peter Todd joins me to unpack the endless wars over Bitcoin's "true purpose," his pioneering work putting "spam" on the blockchain, and why he believes attempts to filter transactions are just “silly.” In this episode, we get deep into the history of using Bitcoin for data storage - which goes back, at least, to the development of Namecoin in 2011. Relatedly, we cover the history and long-fought governance battles around OP_RETURN, relay policy, and our community's evolving definitions of "arbitrary data. Suffice it to say, the Filter Wars of 2024/25 are not new... they are simply one battle in a decade+ war we unpack in detail in this context-rich episode of Bitcoin Rails. In more detail, this episode covers: - The development of Open Time Stamps + Bitcoin's use in validating election data and beyond. - OPRETURN battles of the early days... and how its use has evolved over the past decade. - Why Bitcoin Core "should not try to censor transactions" and the "performance art project" (Libre Relay) that shows why. - Bitcoin as a "replicated database" and why blockchains may legitimately be useful outside of sound money. - Why preventing arbitrary data on Bitcoin is "mathematically impossible" ...and trying to stop it is only distracting us from "more important" efforts, like the Great Consensus Cleanup Antoine Poinsot. This episode of Bitcoin Rails is powered by: - Best In Slot (Best in Slot | BRC2.0 🧑‍🍳) — the leading API for Ordinals and BRC-20 data aggregation and indexing. - Spark (Lightspark) — a statechains implementation advancing Bitcoin-powered payments. - Citrea (Citrea | Mainnet Live 🍊🍋) — the leading Bitcoin rollup technology and BitVM alliance contributor. Timestamps: 00:00 Intro 01:19 Bitcoin Early Days 03:44 OpenTimestamps Project 12:22 Governance and Bitcoin Protocol Debates 26:36 The Blockchain Use Case Argument 35:46 Transaction Version Numbers and Standardization 38:30 Preventing Exploits and DDoS Attacks 40:10 Relay Policies and Economic Decisions 42:00 The Taproot Annex and OP_RETURN 45:07 Libre Relay 01:01:18 Future of Bitcoin and Soft Fork Proposals
1:13:14

BITCOIN RAILS #43: A HISTORY OF “SPAM” on BITCOIN | with Peter Todd 🔗 YOUTUBE: 🌿 SPOTIFY: “You cannot prevent arbitrary data from being published in Bitcoin transactions. Even at the consensus level…It’s mathematically impossible.” Legendary Bitcoin contributor since 2009 and self-described "weirdo with a fine arts degree," Peter Todd joins me to unpack the endless wars over Bitcoin's "true purpose," his pioneering work putting "spam" on the blockchain, and why he believes attempts to filter transactions are just “silly.” In this episode, we get deep into the history of using Bitcoin for data storage - which goes back, at least, to the development of Namecoin in 2011. Relatedly, we cover the history and long-fought governance battles around OP_RETURN, relay policy, and our community's evolving definitions of "arbitrary data. Suffice it to say, the Filter Wars of 2024/25 are not new... they are simply one battle in a decade+ war we unpack in detail in this context-rich episode of Bitcoin Rails. In more detail, this episode covers: - The development of Open Time Stamps + Bitcoin's use in validating election data and beyond. - OPRETURN battles of the early days... and how its use has evolved over the past decade. - Why Bitcoin Core "should not try to censor transactions" and the "performance art project" (Libre Relay) that shows why. - Bitcoin as a "replicated database" and why blockchains may legitimately be useful outside of sound money. - Why preventing arbitrary data on Bitcoin is "mathematically impossible" ...and trying to stop it is only distracting us from "more important" efforts, like the Great Consensus Cleanup Antoine Poinsot. This episode of Bitcoin Rails is powered by: - Best In Slot (Best in Slot | BRC2.0 🧑‍🍳) — the leading API for Ordinals and BRC-20 data aggregation and indexing. - Spark (Lightspark) — a statechains implementation advancing Bitcoin-powered payments. - Citrea (Citrea | Mainnet Live 🍊🍋) — the leading Bitcoin rollup technology and BitVM alliance contributor. Timestamps: 00:00 Intro 01:19 Bitcoin Early Days 03:44 OpenTimestamps Project 12:22 Governance and Bitcoin Protocol Debates 26:36 The Blockchain Use Case Argument 35:46 Transaction Version Numbers and Standardization 38:30 Preventing Exploits and DDoS Attacks 40:10 Relay Policies and Economic Decisions 42:00 The Taproot Annex and OP_RETURN 45:07 Libre Relay 01:01:18 Future of Bitcoin and Soft Fork Proposals

Isabel Foxen Duke⚡️

10,768 views • 7 months ago

BITCOIN RAILS #41 | Bitcoin Native Staking: When Trust Becomes the Bottleneck | with Babylon founder David Tse 🔗 YOUTUBE: 🌿 SPOTIFY: “99% of Bitcoin is held idle, not because of lack of interest, but because of lack of trust.” Not long after Ordinals (and BRC20) revitalized the “Bitcoin DeFi” narrative, Babylon seemingly leapt onto the scene with what felt like overnight success – locking several billion dollars of TVL in its “trustless Bitcoin staking” protocol. With some of the most interesting advisors and contributors in the space (...seriously, what other projects can claim both domo and яobin linus as collaborators?), Babylon quickly became a “BTC-Fi” Goliath – converting both Bitcoin Season 2 types and formerly staunch ETH maxis alike. In this episode, I sit down with creator David Tse to get the protocol's birth story - and learn how POS staking became the first truly trustless Bitcoin DeFi application in the world. In this episode, we cover: - Why smaller POS chains need better security… and how Bitcoin liquidity may be the answer to securing experimental chains in smaller ecosystems - How David’s former experiences in the Cosmos ecosystem informed the core thesis of using Bitcoin to secure smaller chains - A quick breakdown of Babylon’s staking architecture - and what exactly makes it “trustless” - Babylon’s relationship with BitVM, and the team’s lesser-known contributions to both BitVM2 and BitVM3 (Fun Fact: David Tse is яobin linus's PhD advisor at Stanford 🧑‍🎓) - Why Bitcoiners didn’t want to stake their Bitcoin for yield until now... and how the "trustlessness" thesis is already panning out (with 1 whale dropping a whopping 10K Bitcoin in the protocol just a few months back!) Bitcoin Rails is powered by: - Best In Slot (Best in Slot | BRC2.0 🧑‍🍳) — the leading API for Ordinals and BRC-20 data aggregation and indexing. - Spark (Lightspark) — a Statechains implementation advancing Bitcoin-powered payments. - Citrea (Citrea) — the leading Bitcoin rollup technology and BitVM alliance contributor. 📌 Timestamps 00:00 Intro 00:38 Bitcoin++ Insights 01:52 David’s Background and Information Theory 05:34 Journey into Bitcoin and Blockchain 07:34 Scaling Bitcoin with Prism Protocol 10:38 Babylon and Cosmos Ecosystem 13:51 Bitcoin Staking and Security Mechanisms 24:49 The Importance of Reputation in Crypto 25:51 Partners and Announcements Break 27:25 Profile of Babylon Stakers 29:17 The Grand Vision for Babylon 32:40 Garbled Circuits and Secret Revelation 44:05 Trustless Bitcoin Vaults and Future Prospects
49:39

BITCOIN RAILS #41 | Bitcoin Native Staking: When Trust Becomes the Bottleneck | with Babylon founder David Tse 🔗 YOUTUBE: 🌿 SPOTIFY: “99% of Bitcoin is held idle, not because of lack of interest, but because of lack of trust.” Not long after Ordinals (and BRC20) revitalized the “Bitcoin DeFi” narrative, Babylon seemingly leapt onto the scene with what felt like overnight success – locking several billion dollars of TVL in its “trustless Bitcoin staking” protocol. With some of the most interesting advisors and contributors in the space (...seriously, what other projects can claim both domo and яobin linus as collaborators?), Babylon quickly became a “BTC-Fi” Goliath – converting both Bitcoin Season 2 types and formerly staunch ETH maxis alike. In this episode, I sit down with creator David Tse to get the protocol's birth story - and learn how POS staking became the first truly trustless Bitcoin DeFi application in the world. In this episode, we cover: - Why smaller POS chains need better security… and how Bitcoin liquidity may be the answer to securing experimental chains in smaller ecosystems - How David’s former experiences in the Cosmos ecosystem informed the core thesis of using Bitcoin to secure smaller chains - A quick breakdown of Babylon’s staking architecture - and what exactly makes it “trustless” - Babylon’s relationship with BitVM, and the team’s lesser-known contributions to both BitVM2 and BitVM3 (Fun Fact: David Tse is яobin linus's PhD advisor at Stanford 🧑‍🎓) - Why Bitcoiners didn’t want to stake their Bitcoin for yield until now... and how the "trustlessness" thesis is already panning out (with 1 whale dropping a whopping 10K Bitcoin in the protocol just a few months back!) Bitcoin Rails is powered by: - Best In Slot (Best in Slot | BRC2.0 🧑‍🍳) — the leading API for Ordinals and BRC-20 data aggregation and indexing. - Spark (Lightspark) — a Statechains implementation advancing Bitcoin-powered payments. - Citrea (Citrea) — the leading Bitcoin rollup technology and BitVM alliance contributor. 📌 Timestamps 00:00 Intro 00:38 Bitcoin++ Insights 01:52 David’s Background and Information Theory 05:34 Journey into Bitcoin and Blockchain 07:34 Scaling Bitcoin with Prism Protocol 10:38 Babylon and Cosmos Ecosystem 13:51 Bitcoin Staking and Security Mechanisms 24:49 The Importance of Reputation in Crypto 25:51 Partners and Announcements Break 27:25 Profile of Babylon Stakers 29:17 The Grand Vision for Babylon 32:40 Garbled Circuits and Secret Revelation 44:05 Trustless Bitcoin Vaults and Future Prospects

Isabel Foxen Duke⚡️

15,937 views • 8 months ago

When does Washington move fast? When something becomes a national security priority. On this week’s Bitcoin Policy Hour, the Bitcoin Policy Institute team breaks down why quantum technology isn’t just another tech buzzword — it’s the next geopolitical battleground. The U.S. is investing directly in quantum firms because whoever wins this race will shape the future of encryption and information security. If an adversary develops quantum capabilities first, decades of encrypted government and financial data could be exposed overnight — including Bitcoin and every sensitive communications channel the U.S. depends on. The takeaway: Quantum must be treated with the same strategic urgency as AI, rare earths, and energy independence, and Bitcoin should be integrated into America’s broader resilience strategy. 🎥 Watch here: cc: Zack Shapiro Zack Cohen Bayman11771
2:15

When does Washington move fast? When something becomes a national security priority. On this week’s Bitcoin Policy Hour, the Bitcoin Policy Institute team breaks down why quantum technology isn’t just another tech buzzword — it’s the next geopolitical battleground. The U.S. is investing directly in quantum firms because whoever wins this race will shape the future of encryption and information security. If an adversary develops quantum capabilities first, decades of encrypted government and financial data could be exposed overnight — including Bitcoin and every sensitive communications channel the U.S. depends on. The takeaway: Quantum must be treated with the same strategic urgency as AI, rare earths, and energy independence, and Bitcoin should be integrated into America’s broader resilience strategy. 🎥 Watch here: cc: Zack Shapiro Zack Cohen Bayman11771

Bitcoin Policy Institute

32,904 views • 8 months ago

BITCOIN RAILS #46: BITCOIN MINING IN THE AGE OF AI | with MARA CEO Fred Thiel 🔗 YOUTUBE: 🌿 SPOTIFY: In response to the AI-driven shock in global demand for computing power, large players in the Bitcoin mining industry have been forced to make significant strategic shifts to remain competitive. MARA — the largest Bitcoin miner in the world by hashrate — is emerging as one of the more well-positioned beneficiaries of these changing tides, having transitioned from an “asset-light” strategy (via hosted mining at third-party facilities) to an “asset-heavy” approach (owning its own land, power, and infrastructure) just ahead of the AI compute wave in 2024/25. I sat down with MARA CEO Fred Thiel to discuss how these shifting industry dynamics are playing out in practice — as well as his perspective on how key mining-related security and infrastructure issues may evolve in the coming months and years. In this episode, we cover: — How MARA scaled from near-zero hash rate in 2020 to the largest Bitcoin miner globally by the end of 2023 — Key differences between operating Bitcoin mining facilities versus AI data centers, and where the two models meaningfully intersect — Why ownership of power generation — rather than reliance on PPAs — may represent a durable competitive edge for miners and AI data center operators over time — Why Bitcoin may be entering its “IPO phase,” and why recent price corrections could reflect increasing market maturity rather than structural weakness We also explore more technical and often under-discussed topics, such as heat reuse, open-source mining technologies, and the implications of US policy goals around Bitcoin mining. This episode offers a grounded, operator-level view of where Bitcoin mining is headed, informed by one of the most influential leaders in the public mining sector. This episode of Bitcoin Rails is powered by: — Best In Slot (Best in Slot | BRC2.0 🧑‍🍳) — the leading API for Ordinals and BRC-20 data aggregation and indexing. — Spark (Lightspark) — a statechains implementation advancing Bitcoin-powered payments. — Citrea (Citrea | Mainnet Live 🍊🍋) — a leading Bitcoin rollup technology and BitVM alliance contributor. TIMESTAMPS 📌 00:00 Intro 01:09 From Marathon Patent Group to MARA 06:35 Why Owning Infrastructure is Key 07:46 First Public Companies Mining Bitcoin 09:54 Data Centers For AI vs Bitcoin Mining Facilities 14:07 How AI Data Centers Will Look Going Forward 15:37 How MARA is Diversifying From Bitcoin Mining 19:03 Private Cloud and Data Security 22:20 The Exaion Partnership 26:03 Future of Bitcoin and AI 40:22 Innovative Approaches to AI and Bitcoin Mining 42:06 Challenges and Opportunities in Power Generation 45:38 Strategic International Partnerships 50:43 The Future of Real World Assets 53:53 Bitcoin Mining in China 57:24 Why MARA Runs Their Own Software 01:00:19 Where is Bitcoin Mining Headed 01:04:17 Benefits of Running a Mining Pool 01:07:17 Heat Reuse in Mining 01:12:23 The Role of Data Centers in Power Generation
1:18:39

BITCOIN RAILS #46: BITCOIN MINING IN THE AGE OF AI | with MARA CEO Fred Thiel 🔗 YOUTUBE: 🌿 SPOTIFY: In response to the AI-driven shock in global demand for computing power, large players in the Bitcoin mining industry have been forced to make significant strategic shifts to remain competitive. MARA — the largest Bitcoin miner in the world by hashrate — is emerging as one of the more well-positioned beneficiaries of these changing tides, having transitioned from an “asset-light” strategy (via hosted mining at third-party facilities) to an “asset-heavy” approach (owning its own land, power, and infrastructure) just ahead of the AI compute wave in 2024/25. I sat down with MARA CEO Fred Thiel to discuss how these shifting industry dynamics are playing out in practice — as well as his perspective on how key mining-related security and infrastructure issues may evolve in the coming months and years. In this episode, we cover: — How MARA scaled from near-zero hash rate in 2020 to the largest Bitcoin miner globally by the end of 2023 — Key differences between operating Bitcoin mining facilities versus AI data centers, and where the two models meaningfully intersect — Why ownership of power generation — rather than reliance on PPAs — may represent a durable competitive edge for miners and AI data center operators over time — Why Bitcoin may be entering its “IPO phase,” and why recent price corrections could reflect increasing market maturity rather than structural weakness We also explore more technical and often under-discussed topics, such as heat reuse, open-source mining technologies, and the implications of US policy goals around Bitcoin mining. This episode offers a grounded, operator-level view of where Bitcoin mining is headed, informed by one of the most influential leaders in the public mining sector. This episode of Bitcoin Rails is powered by: — Best In Slot (Best in Slot | BRC2.0 🧑‍🍳) — the leading API for Ordinals and BRC-20 data aggregation and indexing. — Spark (Lightspark) — a statechains implementation advancing Bitcoin-powered payments. — Citrea (Citrea | Mainnet Live 🍊🍋) — a leading Bitcoin rollup technology and BitVM alliance contributor. TIMESTAMPS 📌 00:00 Intro 01:09 From Marathon Patent Group to MARA 06:35 Why Owning Infrastructure is Key 07:46 First Public Companies Mining Bitcoin 09:54 Data Centers For AI vs Bitcoin Mining Facilities 14:07 How AI Data Centers Will Look Going Forward 15:37 How MARA is Diversifying From Bitcoin Mining 19:03 Private Cloud and Data Security 22:20 The Exaion Partnership 26:03 Future of Bitcoin and AI 40:22 Innovative Approaches to AI and Bitcoin Mining 42:06 Challenges and Opportunities in Power Generation 45:38 Strategic International Partnerships 50:43 The Future of Real World Assets 53:53 Bitcoin Mining in China 57:24 Why MARA Runs Their Own Software 01:00:19 Where is Bitcoin Mining Headed 01:04:17 Benefits of Running a Mining Pool 01:07:17 Heat Reuse in Mining 01:12:23 The Role of Data Centers in Power Generation

Isabel Foxen Duke⚡️

31,411 views • 6 months ago

BITCOIN RAILS #32: Bitcoin Art History (+ why "Pepes aren't NFTs") | with Rare Scrilla 🔗YOUTUBE: 🌿SPOTIFY: There are few people on the planet more deeply entrenched in ‘Bitcoin Art’ than RARE SCRILLA - and few people more influential in its culture and adoption. A key figure in "Rare Pepe" culture, Scrilla pioneered the "Fake Rares" movement, igniting a significant surge in demand for Counterparty assets in late 2021 - nearly eight years after he began recording Bitcoin-inspired hip-hop, influenced by the Silk Road, in 2014. Scrilla has written and recorded multiple Bitcoin-inspired albums, including Sound Money, which became the first original album inscribed on Bitcoin - as well as the first original song on Bitcoin, a sub-1K inscription. From Counterparty, to Pepes, to Ordinals and beyond - Scrilla and I explore the unique history of Bitcoin art culture over the past decade - and the wildly underrated influence of Bitcoin on the development of “NFTs.” This episode pays tribute to: rocktoshi Theo Goodman Ghostface Killah - as well as shout outs to collaborators BG and lyndoco As always, you can view this episode on YouTube or Spotify using the link in my bio. This episode is powered by Best In Slot (Best in Slot | BRC2.0 🧑‍🍳), the leading API for Ordinals and BRC20 data aggregation and indexing — as well as Citrea (Citrea | Mainnet Live 🍊🍋), a leading Bitcoin Rollup technology and contributor to the BitVM alliance. TIMESTAMPS: 00:00 – Intro 02:40 – How Silk Road Sparked Scrilla’s Journey 09:27 – Trading, Losing, and Going All In 14:35 – Birth of the Rare Pepe Phenomenon 22:00 – Pepe Went Global (and political) 27:10 – Inside the Rare Pepe Directory 30:26 – Ethereum’s Rise and the Art Split 36:00 – Ethereum Won: Art Communities Scattered 41:34 – The Birth of Fake Rares 53:57 – How DJ Pepe Got Into Ordinals 01:00:10 – First Music on Bitcoin 01:10:20 – The Current Ordinals Situation 01:17:29 – The “Ahá” Moment 01:22:40 –The Dark Side of The Music Industry 01:26:10 – Censorship Resistance & The Road Ahead
1:32:27

BITCOIN RAILS #32: Bitcoin Art History (+ why "Pepes aren't NFTs") | with Rare Scrilla 🔗YOUTUBE: 🌿SPOTIFY: There are few people on the planet more deeply entrenched in ‘Bitcoin Art’ than RARE SCRILLA - and few people more influential in its culture and adoption. A key figure in "Rare Pepe" culture, Scrilla pioneered the "Fake Rares" movement, igniting a significant surge in demand for Counterparty assets in late 2021 - nearly eight years after he began recording Bitcoin-inspired hip-hop, influenced by the Silk Road, in 2014. Scrilla has written and recorded multiple Bitcoin-inspired albums, including Sound Money, which became the first original album inscribed on Bitcoin - as well as the first original song on Bitcoin, a sub-1K inscription. From Counterparty, to Pepes, to Ordinals and beyond - Scrilla and I explore the unique history of Bitcoin art culture over the past decade - and the wildly underrated influence of Bitcoin on the development of “NFTs.” This episode pays tribute to: rocktoshi Theo Goodman Ghostface Killah - as well as shout outs to collaborators BG and lyndoco As always, you can view this episode on YouTube or Spotify using the link in my bio. This episode is powered by Best In Slot (Best in Slot | BRC2.0 🧑‍🍳), the leading API for Ordinals and BRC20 data aggregation and indexing — as well as Citrea (Citrea | Mainnet Live 🍊🍋), a leading Bitcoin Rollup technology and contributor to the BitVM alliance. TIMESTAMPS: 00:00 – Intro 02:40 – How Silk Road Sparked Scrilla’s Journey 09:27 – Trading, Losing, and Going All In 14:35 – Birth of the Rare Pepe Phenomenon 22:00 – Pepe Went Global (and political) 27:10 – Inside the Rare Pepe Directory 30:26 – Ethereum’s Rise and the Art Split 36:00 – Ethereum Won: Art Communities Scattered 41:34 – The Birth of Fake Rares 53:57 – How DJ Pepe Got Into Ordinals 01:00:10 – First Music on Bitcoin 01:10:20 – The Current Ordinals Situation 01:17:29 – The “Ahá” Moment 01:22:40 –The Dark Side of The Music Industry 01:26:10 – Censorship Resistance & The Road Ahead

Isabel Foxen Duke⚡️

10,236 views • 11 months ago