Stephan Livera Podcast

Prashanth Chandrashekar argues that much of Europe's debanking comes down to how banks score transfers. Money arriving from a crypto exchange's account is treated as a higher-risk third-party payment, while a transfer between two accounts in your own name passes with far fewer flags. Bringin's answer is a named virtual IBAN for each customer, which he says lowers the risk of being debanked rather than removing it.Prashanth, who is from India, started Bringin after moving to Estonia holding Bitcoin and finding he couldn't easily spend it. He now runs the company's consumer app and its new business accounts.They cover MiCA's licensing reset, which by his figures left only about 30% of earlier firms licensed but lets the survivors passport across the EU; accounts closed without explanation under tipping-off rules; and how named IBANs differ from the deposit IBANs exchanges hand out. On the consumer wallet, built on Spark, he is direct about the trade-offs: operators are mostly centralized and can see payments, though they cannot move funds alone.On Bringin for Business, he describes pilot users such as mining-rig sellers paying suppliers abroad, plus stablecoin support and accounting exports. The custody model differs from the consumer app: keys sit in a hosted Turnkey enclave with spending policies, Bringin holds an extra key in multi-director setups, seed export is discouraged, and ownership changes run through Bringin's backend. Third-party euro payments were promised within days of recording, and corporate cards are not yet available.Disclosure: Stephan is a small investor in and advisor to Bringin.Timestamps:00:00 — Intro00:37 — MiCA: Costly but Passportable03:28 — Debanking: Why Banks Block Exchange Flows07:04 — Named vIBANs vs Exchange Deposit IBANs11:25 — Spark Self-Custody and Its Trust Trade-offs13:03 — Why Banks Are Harder on Businesses15:22 — Who Joined the Business Pilot18:08 — Beyond Debanking: Accounting Headaches20:31 — Business Keys in Turnkey Enclaves24:53 — Key Rotation Runs Through Bringin's Backend26:24 — Roadmap: Third-Party Payments, No Cards Yet30:45 — Next Customers: Stablecoins and Agents33:31 — Regulation Outlook: DAC8 and Data Risk34:39 — AI Agents, MCP, and PaymentsLinks: https://x.com/prashanthc123https://x.com/bringinxyzhttps://bringin.app/businessStephan Livera links:Follow me on X: @stephanliveraSubscribe to the podcastSubscribe to Substack

Andrew Webley walks through Smarter Web's capital structure—ordinary shares as growth equity, a repaid short convert, Coinbase credit, and MORE as the income preferred.Webley is CEO of The Smarter Web Company (LSE: SWC), the UK's largest publicly traded Bitcoin treasury. He traces the path from Hargreaves Lansdown to listing on Aquis, then the LSE Main Market, while building toward roughly 2,747 BTC on the balance sheet.The conversation covers ordinary shares versus preferred equity, why SWC repaid its short convert, how the Coinbase credit facility fits a "buy leverage when cheap" playbook, and the launch of MORE—an income preferred designed alongside SWC growth equity. Webley contrasts treasury companies with ETFs and spot Bitcoin, stressing Bitcoin-per-share growth, liquidity for institutions, and GBP denomination without US dividend withholding.He also flags the downsides: treasury structures amplify Bitcoin volatility, management can mess up capital allocation, and in a drawdown there is no guarantee that equity, credit, or preferreds will be available.Timestamps:00:00 — Intro00:25 — Hargreaves Lansdown to Smarter Web02:09 — Saylor Pivot Was His Bitcoin Moment04:00 — Listing the UK Treasury Play08:44 — Clean Balance Sheet Structure11:25 — Coinbase Credit at the Bottom14:32 — Debt vs NAV Reporting19:45 — Bitcoin-per-Share vs Total Return21:32 — How Institutions Actually Buy25:02 — Treasury Co vs ETF vs Bitcoin28:12 — MORE Preferred Equity Explained30:17 — Amplification Cap at 35%33:11 — Sterling Preferred Advantage37:49 — Downside Risks: Volatility and Execution40:27 — Drawdowns and Uncertain Capital AccessLinks: https://x.com/asjwebleyhttps://x.com/smarterwebukhttps://www.smarterwebcompany.co.uk/Stephan Livera links:Follow me on X: @stephanliveraSubscribe to the podcastSubscribe to Substack

Bitkey ditched seed phrases for a recovery-focused 2-of-3 design: an app key, hardware key, and Block server key that use phones, hardware, and cloud access to help people retain control of their funds.Clay Garrett, Bitkey lead at Block, joins Stephan Livera to explain the design trade-offs: safety as security plus recoverability, cloud backup that needs your hardware to decrypt, and why Bitkey does not treat vendor lock-in as its ethos.They dig into recovery paths, multi-vendor trade-offs, transfer-without-hardware limits, Recovery Contacts and inheritance, a working FROST prototype, what covenants could move on-chain, chain code delegation, and privacy-conscious Electrum options.Timestamps:00:00 — Intro00:19 — Clay Garrett Joins — Bitkey at Block00:56 — Bitkey V2 and the 2-of-3 Model03:03 — Safety Means Access and Recoverability04:11 — App+Hardware Spends Without Block07:09 — Cloud Backup and Instant Phone Swap09:27 — Lost Hardware and the 7-Day Delay12:14 — Vendor Lock Is Temporary, Not Ethos15:44 — Multi-Vendor After Coldcard21:20 — Which Wallet Fits Your Threat Model?26:49 — $5 Wrench and Transfer Without Hardware30:04 — Recovery Contacts and Inheritance36:06 — FROST Prototype Already in the Repo38:04 — On-Chain Looks Like Single-Sig39:34 — Covenants Could Move Policy On-Chain42:09 — Chain Code Delegation — BIP 8946:10 — Electrum, Mempool, and Custom Servers52:08 — Industry After Coldcard Changed55:21 — Wallet Plus Free-for-Life Co-SigningLinks: https://x.com/clay_garretthttps://bitkey.world/Stephan Livera links:Follow me on X: @stephanliveraSubscribe to the podcastSubscribe to Substack

Bitcoin soft-fork debates around CTV, CSFS, OP_CAT, and OP_VAULT keep stalling — and Misha Komarov of Allocinit argues you can emulate much of that covenant behavior with cryptography instead of changing consensus.Misha joins Stephan to unpack Bitcoin PIPEs v2: a Witness Encryption design that locks a signing key under an NP statement so a valid zero-knowledge proof decrypts the key and produces an ordinary Schnorr spend. Bitcoin L1 only checks a normal signature.They compare PIPEs v1 (Functional Encryption / richer post-covenants) with v2 (Witness Encryption / binary pre-covenants), ciphertext sizes from ~300 TB toward single-digit terabytes, DKG and 1-of-n setup assumptions, non-custodial vault and shared-pool use cases, contrasts with cosigner models like Sigbash, and how Allocinit’s Shielded Bitcoin design differs from Shielded CSV’s client-side validation approach — plus open cryptanalysis challenges and a path toward implementable code.Timestamps:00:00 — Intro: Misha & Bitcoin PIPEs v200:27 — Background: BitMessage to =nil;01:31 — Soft-Fork Fatigue & Nice-to-Haves03:24 — Emulate Opcodes Without Soft Forks04:54 — Witness Encryption Unlocks Keys06:01 — Witness Encryption vs Bitcoin Witness09:00 — PIPEs v1 vs v2: FE to WE11:39 — Ciphertext Size & Cost Trade-offs15:28 — Vaults as the Unhappy Path16:23 — PIPEs vs Sigbash Cosigner18:05 — DKG Setup & 1-of-n Trust21:11 — Shared Vaults & Lending Use Cases23:24 — Beyond Canonical OP_VAULT26:35 — Shielded Bitcoin vs Shielded CSV32:17 — Self-Custody Peg-In and Peg-Out37:14 — On-Chain Footprint Walkthrough39:42 — Security Challenges & Code RoadmapLinks: https://x.com/nemothenoonehttps://x.com/allocinitxyzStephan Livera links:Follow me on X: @stephanliveraSubscribe to the podcastSubscribe to Substack

Most Asian markets still make buying and saving Bitcoin painfully hard. James of Ârc argues the fix is not another protocol breakthrough — it is local founders shipping simple DCA and savings products market by market.James joins me from Mirissa Beach, Sri Lanka, where Arc is partnering with Fulgur Ventures on a continuous Bitcoin accelerator. He is a former EY advisor and Playfair Capital investor who previously built with Alexander Mann (now Fulgur GP) and later sold Consequence, an early LLM-on-databases company.The conversation covers why the program is continuous rather than a six- or twelve-week cohort, how to apply at arc.lk/Fulgur, why Sri Lanka ranks among his top-three country bets, the South Coast talent melting pot, funding DCA apps across Asia even where operators already exist, AI agents as Bitcoin users, and why Strike expanding should not scare local founders.Timestamps:00:00 — Intro: James of Ârc00:35 — From Accenture to Venture Capital02:13 — Building With Alex Singh03:21 — Fed Up With Monkey JPEGs05:10 — Ârc Fulgur Bitcoin Accelerator06:35 — Continuous Program at Mirissa07:34 — Two Paths Into Ârc Fulgur10:13 — Why Sri Lanka?12:02 — Top-Three Country Bet12:23 — Whales, Leopards, Beach Hub15:00 — South Coast Talent Melting Pot18:36 — 34 Local Founders Already In21:39 — Fund DCA Apps Across Asia25:23 — AI Agents Will Use Bitcoin28:18 — Room for Many Asian Operators32:23 — Just Focus on Your Customer32:39 — Apply NowLinks: https://x.com/James_of_Archttps://x.com/FulgurVentureshttps://arc.lk/Stephan Livera links:Follow me on X: @stephanliveraSubscribe to the podcastSubscribe to Substack

Walter Maffione, CEO and co-founder of KaleidoSwap, join me to explain how the project grew from an RGB Lightning DEX into a broader swap engine and LSP stack — Lightning as rails between Liquid, Arkade, Taproot Assets, Spark, and RGB — plus KaleidoSDK, desktop app, and browser Extension.We dig into web app and SDK integrations for merchants and unified-balance wallets, how HTLC atomicity works across layers, BOLT 12 multi-asset offers and Nostr discovery for competing providers, Bitcoin-only scope with Flashnet and Utexo bridges for external stables, and a product lineup of desktop app, browser extension, and dual SDKs.Walter also covers agentic payments via MCP plugins, self-sovereign local models with Tether’s QVAC, fee ranges around 0.5–1%, and a one-to-three-month mainnet launch path for the extension, swap provider, and web app.Timestamp:00:00 — Intro: Walter & KaleidoSwap00:50 — From RGB to Multi-Layer Swaps02:14 — LSP Plus Swap Provider Stack03:42 — Merchants, Stables, Unified Balance05:38 — Why Swap UX Took Over Wallets06:42 — Liquidity Ops and Mainnet Path07:58 — AI Attacks After Boltz Shutdown10:23 — Defending Non-Custodial Swaps12:18 — How Atomic Swaps Actually Work13:36 — RGB, Liquid, Arkade, Spark 14:36 — Open Spec, BOLT 12, Nostr Discovery18:23 — Pay Anything via the SDK19:34 — Bitcoin Layers Only + Bridges22:05 — Desktop, Extension, Dual SDKs25:05 — UX That Adapts to the User26:32 — Agentic Payments and QVAC33:22 — MCP Plugins, Keep Your Own AI35:11 — Fees Around 0.5–1%35:57 — Launch Timeline: Next 1–3 Months37:05 — Find KaleidoSwap OnlineLinks: https://x.com/bit_walthttps://x.com/kaleidoswaphttps://docs.kaleidoswap.com/whats-kaleidoswap/introductionStephan Livera links:Follow me on X: @stephanliveraSubscribe to the podcastSubscribe to Substack

00:00 - Interview with Gabriele Vernetti of Stratum V2 @gitgab1915:38 - Interview with Jimmy Kostro @jimmykostro29:30 - Interview with James Check of checkonchainLinks: https://x.com/gitgab19https://x.com/jimmykostrohttps://x.com/_checkonchainhttps://x.com/_checkmatey_https://x.com/stratumv2Bitcoinchiangmai.org

In this episode, I interviewed several people at Bitcoin Asia 2026.Timestamps:00:00 - Interview with Adam Poulton06:28 Interview with Giovanni Santostasi15:18 Interview Jeff Walton of Strive34:11 Interview with Alex B from ArkLabsLinks: http://x.com/Giovann35084111http://x.com/adampoultonhttp://x.com/bergealex4http://x.com/arklabshqhttp://x.com/punterjeffhttp://x.com/striveStephan Livera links:Follow me on X: @stephanliveraSubscribe to the podcastSubscribe to Substack

In this episode, Keith Mukai of SeedSigner joins to explain why 1.4 percent variance in cheap dice still delivers full 128-bit entropy and how to verify rolls across devices.Timestamps:03:10 — Cheap Dice Only 1.4% Unfair?06:29 — Shake Multiple Dice in a Box08:26 — Verify Dice Rolls Across Devices11:02 — Verify Dice Seeds With Fake Rolls13:50 — Multiple Test Rounds Foil Attackers16:36 — 90% Users Choose Easy RNG Mode19:08 — Jade's D&D Dice Method?21:53 — Build Your Own: Avoid Mailing List Leak24:48 — Stateless Device: Evil Maid Gets Nothing26:45 — Hand-Drawn SeedQR: Skip Typing 24 Words29:02 — SeedSigner: Built for Long-Term Cold Storage31:30 — Evil Maid SD Card Swap Destroys Security35:27 — Why Multisig Beats Single-Sig + Passphrase37:14 — Scan Sparrow PDF QR to Load Multisig42:16 — No One-Size-Fits-All Security46:41 — Understand Dice Rolls Yourself49:13 — Take Baby Steps to MultisigLinks: https://seedsigner.com/https://x.com/keithmukaihttps://x.com/SeedSignerStephan Livera links:Follow me on X: @stephanliveraSubscribe to the podcastSubscribe to Substack

Lightning Labs built Wavelength to deliver self-custodial Lightning payments without forcing users to run nodes, manage channels, or handle liquidity.Olaoluwa Osuntokun, CTO and co-founder of Lightning Labs, and Michael Levin, VP of Product, join me to detail the design choices behind their Ark implementation.They explain why Ark was selected, how hop hints let every payment use ordinary Lightning invoices, and why the four-endpoint SDK targets AI agents and vibe coders. The conversation covers sub-dust vouchers, unilateral exits, offline payment delivery, and one-basis-point alpha pricing.Wavelength shows that self-custodial Lightning can match the integration ease of custodial services while preserving Bitcoin sovereignty.Timestamps01:28 — Why Wavelength: Lightning Without Node Pain03:00 — Why Ark? 05:28 — No New Addresses: Just Lightning Invoices08:40 — Targeting Vibe Coders & AI Agents13:06 — Lightning Beats Credit for LLM APIs17:51 — Receive Sub-1k Sat Vouchers Seamlessly19:32 — Normal User Spins Up Ark Wallet Fast23:02 — Build Wallets with Just 4 Endpoints24:46 — Telegram Self-Custodial Wallets Already Live26:21 — Offline Payments Still Arrive Automatically29:17 — Drop-In SDK for iOS and Android31:26 — Can Servers Steal Your Funds?33:36 — Wavelength Alpha: Just 1 Bip Fees37:57 — AI Attacks Targeting Bitcoin Services?44:05 — Bug Bounties Shift to Token Spending48:36 — Self-Custody as Easy as CustodialLinks: https://x.com/roasbeehttps://x.com/MichaelLevinWavelength Announcement: https://x.com/lightning/status/2079620936567779707Stephan Livera links:Follow me on X: @stephanliveraSubscribe to the podcastSubscribe to Substack

Roy Sheinfeld of Breez returns to walk through Glow, the team's new reference wallet built using Spark. It’s designed so non-custodial Bitcoin feels simple: send, receive, and go.Glow uses passkey onboarding (no seed phrase to write down), automatic backup via the passkey provider, and a single-balance UX so users can pay Lightning, on-chain, and stablecoin destinations without wrestling settings.They also cover client-side swaps (Flashnet, multi-vendor architecture after Boltz), AI-driven attacks on swap providers, where Lightning volume actually comes from, Spark unilateral exits, and how AI plus the Breez SDK lets non-developers ship Bitcoin apps from a prompt.Timestamps04:21 — Bitcoin Wallet Onboard with One Passkey08:05 — Stables on Lightning: Overhyped?09:59 — Swaps Needed Even With Lightning Stables11:48 — AI Attacks: Cheaper to Attack Than Defend15:07 — Why Small Teams Get Hacked First17:15 — Swaps Going Private to Survive?19:17 — Backends Drive Most Lightning Volume21:32 — 80/20 Rule: B2B Drives Lightning Volume25:13 — Making Unilateral Exit Economically Viable29:48 — Spark Public Mode31:38 — One Prompt Builds a Bitcoin App33:13 — Non-Technical Users Now Ship Bitcoin AppsLinks: https://x.com/roy_breezhttps://x.com/breez_techhttps://breez.technology/glow/Stephan Livera links:Follow me on X: @stephanliveraSubscribe to the podcastSubscribe to Substack

Kruw (@kruwed) runs one of the highest-volume WabiSabi coordinators, giving him direct insight into how the protocol handles liquidity, Sybil resistance, and real-world usage.Timestamps:00:42 — Wasabi 2.8 Privacy Features 02:45 — Taproot As Wasabi's Default Address07:25 — Pay Inside CoinJoin Saves 40 Minutes10:26 — Auto CoinJoin 12:21 — WabiSabi Blocks Whale Sybil Attacks14:31 — Payjoins16:37 — ClusterMempool Wins for CoinJoins20:00 — Upcoming forks21:14 — CoinJoin: Free Replay Protection Hack22:53 — CoinJoin Ban Myth Debunked25:41 — Black Hole: Earn While MixingLinks: https://x.com/wasabiwallethttps://x.com/Kruwedhttps://wasabiwallet.io/Stephan Livera links:Follow me on X: @stephanliveraSubscribe to the podcastSubscribe to Substack

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 Pasture03:32 — Core Policy Tweaks Aren't Consensus Rules08:44 — Spam Hides in Any Public Key or Hash11:12 — Spammers Adapt in a Day, Consensus Can't14:59 — BIP110 Debate Exposes Major Inconsistency20:44 — Why the House Analogy Totally Fails25:25 — Nodes Get Cheaper Even With Max Spam28:08 — Set Tolerances Assuming Worst Case30:35 — No Legal Liability for Bad Chain Data33:04 — Filter Regime Creates Government Backdoor35:13 — BIP 110 Risks Centralizing Devs Around Luke37:33 — Economic Incentives Trump 'Good Guy' Miners39:03 — Economic Nodes Outweigh Basement Node Runners43:49 — BIP 110 Has Near-Zero Economic Support48:43 — Why Game Theory Kills BIP 11055:52 — BIP 110 Fork Dies With a WhimperLinks: https://x.com/csuwildcatStephan Livera links:Follow me on X: @stephanliveraSubscribe to the podcastSubscribe to Substack