Some of the most impressive technical and commercial leaders in digital assets emerged from what insiders call the "Libra Mafia" — the team assembled by Meta to build Libra (later Diem).

Though the project ultimately succumbed to regulatory pressure, it produced a generation of founders and engineers who went on to shape the industry, including Sam Blackshear, a leading expert in blockchain programming languages and CTO of Mysten Labs.

In this episode of Bitcoin Rails, Sam joins me to discuss:

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 — developing research, software, and technologies for scaling Bitcoin via the integration of Drivechains (BIP 300/301)

Hashi on Sui Network— a primitive for executing Bitcoin Defi transactions, without having to trust a federated bridge or other centralized entity

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

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 Bunz 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 — developing research, software, and technologies for scaling Bitcoin via the integration of Drivechains (BIP 300/301)

Hashi on Sui Network — a primitive for executing Bitcoin Defi transactions, without having to trust a federated bridge or other centralized entity

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

Few people have had a closer view of the evolution of digital money than Lightspark CEO David Marcus.

After helping scale PayPal and leading Meta’s ambitious—but highly scrutinized—cryptocurrency project Libra/Diem, Marcus has spent years navigating some of the toughest challenges in the payments industry, in both traditional and digital assets.

Marcus more recently turned his focus to Bitcoin with Lightspark, exploring the limits of Lightning payments and building his own Bitcoin layer-2, Spark. After the regulatory challenges of Libra/Diem, Marcus shares why Bitcoin is the only digital assets network he wants to build payments systems on going forward — and why non-Bitcoin payments systems could potentially lead to a "dystopian future" long-term.

In this interview, David and I dive into:

This is the most comprehensive conversation I’ve had on the challenges—and opportunities—of using Bitcoin as a payments system. If you want to more deeply understand Bitcoin as a medium of exchange, there are few people better equipped to share insights on the topic.

This episode of Bitcoin Rails is brought to you by my NEW sponsors:

LayerTwo — developing research, software, and technologies for scaling Bitcoin via the integration of Drivechains (BIP 300/301)

Hashi on Sui Network — a primitive for executing Bitcoin Defi transactions, without having to trust a federated bridge or other centralized entity

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

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:

This episode of Bitcoin Rails is brought to you by my NEW sponsors:

Paul Sztorc is one of the most controversial figures in Bitcoin—and he’s about to pull off one of his most controversial moves of all: a full-blown Bitcoin hardfork.

Actuating his vision of “e-cash,” as the new protocol is called, Paul is pushing forward a new Drivechains-enabled Bitcoin experience—citing governance challenges and a “broken soft fork process” as reasons for the move.

“If BIP300/301 was activated in Bitcoin, we would stop,” says Paul Sztorc—adding, “it’s an irony that the soft fork was invented because the hard fork was too difficult.”

In this interview, I asked Paul all the difficult questions you can imagine—and ultimately found myself sympathizing with much of his defense.

Regardless of one’s personal politics, this interview sheds light on the challenges we face in Bitcoin governance as a whole—and may be worth reviewing to better understand the political statement (ne—political artwork?) that Paul’s work represents.

In this episode, Paul shares:

This episode of Bitcoin Rails is brought to you by my NEW sponsors:

Tyler Stevens—author of Bitcoin Mining Heat Reuse and a leading voice in the space—joins the show to unpack the growing “heatpunk” movement in Bitcoin mining.

Traditionally viewed as a drawback, excess heat from mining is being reframed by heatpunks as a valuable feature, e.g. to generate useful heat—like home heating or hot water. Use for these heat byproducts can effectively subsidize the cost of Bitcoin mining—making operations significantly more profitable, or even free, while contributing to higher hashrate and a more decentralized network.

As Stevens puts it, “Heat reuse solves the security budget problem.” With block subsidies declining over time, mining incentives must evolve to remain sustainable. If Bitcoin mining can serve a dual purpose—securing the network while also fulfilling real-world energy needs—it has a path to long-term profitability, even in a low-fee environment.

In this episode, Tyler and I discuss:

This episode of Bitcoin Rails is brought to you my NEW sponsors:

There are few people as consequential in crypto history as Phil Potter, co-founder of Tether and creator of the world's first stablecoin. After trading Bitcoin in “Satoshi Square” amongst peers like Erik Voorhees, Charlie Shrem, the Winklevoss twins and others, Potter became known for two things:

1. Professionalizing Bitcoin trading via the development of Bitfinex—and managing the 2nd largest exchange hack in Bitcoin's history

2. Inventing stablecoins — arguably the most important piece of crypto-infrastructure outside of Bitcoin itself.

Ultimately, Potter shares that stablecoins were “too successful,” adding that “anytime someone makes a lot of money really fast that they don’t understand… they think you’re a criminal.”

In 2019, Phil stepped down from his role as CSO of Tether after a series of relentless personal, legal and regulatory attacks. In his first video interview since around that time — I’m thrilled to share the story of Tether that’s been waiting to be told.

In this episode, Phil Potter shares:

- What the early days of Bitcoin trading were like (think: in-person Bitcoin-cash trades in NYC’s Washington Square Park)

- How Bitfinex revolutionized trading infrastructure for Bitcoin—and managed the second largest exchange hack of all time.

- The Birth story of Tether + the dark side of being one of the most successful companies in US history.

- How Phil managed the onslaught of regulatory, legal and personal attacks that followed Tether’s rapid success.

This episode of Bitcoin Rails is brought to you my NEW sponsors:

This most recent bull market was inarguably defined by one dominant narrative: the rise of Bitcoin treasury companies and their dramatic retracement as crypto "DATs" flooded markets.

David Bailey, former CEO of Bitcoin Inc. (Bitcoin Magazine, Bitcoin Conference) — raised $760M for treasury company Nakamoto , which catapulted to a peak valuation of 33X MNAV before sliding down below MNAV after a seeming burst in treasury mania last year.

David joins me and newly appointed CEO of Bitcoin Inc. Brandon Green to share the history of one of the most influential companies in Bitcoin history (Bitcoin Inc.), how their treasury play changed everything, and what we can expect from Bitcoin treasury companies moving through 2026 and beyond.

In this episode, the three of us discuss:

This episode of Bitcoin Rails is powered by:

“People in finance understand the financial system, but not money. People in Bitcoin understand money, but not the financial system.”

In a world where financial markets make up 70% of all money flow around the world — we have two choices: come up with technical solutions that enable these use-cases in a decentralized way, or simply accept that Bitcoin will be used in a custodial way whenever more complex use-cases are at play.

Botanix CEO Willem Schroe is staunchly rejecting the latter — and attempting to solve some of the toughest challenges faced by the L2 and scaling landscapes (e.g. the “honeypot problem” that nearly all other L2s will ultimately face if not addressed).

Willem and I break down the design space of Bitcoin L2s, why DeFi may be necessary for Bitcoin’s financial system to emerge, and how different technologies — like Spiderchains, BitVM, Lightning, and others — could eventually combine into a decentralized Bitcoin-native financial stack.

In this episode, we discuss:

- Why Bitcoin needs a financial system, not just payments (hint: without it, we'll end up like Gold)

- The role of DeFi and stablecoins in Bitcoin adoption

- The "honeypot problem" introduced by most Bitcoin bridges, and how implementing Spiderchains could be the solve

- Combining Spiderchains, BitVM, and other models into the ultimate Bitcoin scaling stack

This episode of Bitcoin Rails is powered by:

- Best In Slot (@bestinslotxyz) — the leading API for Ordinals and BRC20 data aggregation and indexing.

- Spark (@lightspark) — a statechains implementation advancing Bitcoin-powered payments.

- Citrea (@citrea_xyz) — a leading Bitcoin rollup technology and BitVM alliance contributor.