logo
episode-header-image
Apr 2019
57m 45s

SLP66 James O’Beirne - The truth about ‘...

STEPHAN LIVERA
About this episode

James O’Beirne, Bitcoin Core Engineer at Chaincode Labs joins me in this episode to talk about the real nature of ‘power’ and control within Bitcoin. It’s not as simple as it might first seem! We talk about: 

  • Differing conceptions of ‘power’ in Bitcoin
  • Peer to peer network governance
  • Bitcoin Core development
  • Assume utxo

James O’Beirne links:

Discussed in episode: 

Stephan Livera links:

Up next
Oct 8
Seed Phrases vs Key Sharding: Multisig's UX Trade-offs | Setzeus SLP781
Setzeus argues that 90% of people will never properly use seed phrases and hardware wallets, and that services like Privy and Turnkey, which split a key behind an email or phone login, are a good-enough floor for self-custody. Stephan pushes back on what that gives up: verifiabil ... Show More
43m 19s
Oct 5
Smarter Web's Capital Structure and MORE Preferred | Andrew Webley SLP780
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 trace ... Show More
44m 39s
Oct 3
Lightning in x402 and Agent Payments | Ben Carman SLP779
Bitcoiners built L402 for a Lightning-native web. Crypto built x402 for agents — and early volume is mostly stables. Ben Carman helped get Lightning into the x402 standard, and argues the pragmatic move is to meet that stack in the middle rather than wait for L402 alone.Ben Carma ... Show More
45m 28s
Recommended Episodes
Mar 2023
Bitcoin Energy Systems, & the State w/ Lyn Alden & Natalie Smolenski
In this podcast, Lyn Alden, Natalie Smolenski, and other experts from the Bitcoin space explore the relationship between Bitcoin, energy systems, and the state. They discuss the concerns around Bitcoin's energy consumption and its potential to undermine state control. Overall, th ... Show More
2h 8m
Jan 2021
My Big Picture on Bitcoin | Interview On Peter McCormack’s “What Bitcoin Did”
<p>Today’s episode is an interview that I gave on the podcast “What Bitcoin Did”, hosted by Peter McCormack. This episode featured the founder of Parallax Digital, Robert Breedlove as we discussed the potential for a government response to Bitcoin. We discuss my thesis on bitcoin ... Show More
1h 16m
Jan 2022
Content Censorship and Self-Sovereignty w/ Jimmy Song
Bitcoin Magazine Hosts Alex McShane and Q discuss with Jimmy Song on how to build censorship-resistant infrastructures. They debate the benefits and drawbacks of hosting your content on centralised platforms versus hosting it yourself. During the Podcast they also talk about the ... Show More
57m 8s
Jan 2022
SOB: Bitcoin Security and a Rogue Power Plant
A bitcoin miner with an unlicensed power plant leads to a discussion on BTC, security and energy. This episode is sponsored by Nexo.io. Bitcoin's energy usage has long been controversial but this time it's not what you'd expect, a story about a rogue power plant kicks off a wide ... Show More
38m 19s
Dec 2020
Why I Think of Bitcoin & Crypto In The Macro Instead of Micro
<p>This episode is an interview that I did on the “What Bitcoin Did” podcast, hosted by Peter McCormack. In this interview, I discuss my macro-thesis on bitcoin and blockchain. I zero-in on the aspect of bitcoin that I think that most people aren’t discussing enough. Enjoy! Let m ... Show More
47m 41s
Listen to millions of songs and podcasts on Anghami