In this episode, we sit down with Dominik Harz, co-founder of BOB (Build on Bitcoin), to explore the cutting edge of Bitcoin scaling and interoperability. Dom dives deep into the challenges and opportunities of building on Bitcoin, focusing on Bob's innovative approach to bridging Bitcoin with other networks like Ethereum using BitVM. We discuss the importance of network effects, the intricacies of cross-chain security, and the practical considerations for users interacting with these technologies. Dom also shares his journey from academia to entrepreneurship and the unique hybrid L2 model Bob is implementing. This conversation provides a fascinating look into the future of Bitcoin and its potential to connect with the broader crypto ecosystem.

What we talk about:

• Dominik's background and journey into the Bitcoin space
• The evolution of Bitcoin and the need for scaling solutions
• Bob's approach to bridging Bitcoin with other chains using BitVM
• The importance of network effects in crypto
• Challenges and solutions in cross-chain security
• Practical considerations for users and the future of Bob
• The hybrid L2 model and its implications
• Transitioning from academia to entrepreneurship

Follow Dominik Harz on Twitter: https://x.com/dominik0_

Learn more about Bob: https://www.gobob.xyz/

Today, Matteo & Raul join me to discuss how Fluid Tokens is revolutionizing decentralized finance (DeFi) on Bitcoin. As pioneers in leveraging Bitcoin’s UTXO model with Ordinals & Runes, they’re building innovative DeFi primitives like staking, lending, and decentralized exchanges (DEXs) in a trustless and permissionless way.

In this episode, we explore:

• [00:00] Surviving the Bear Market and Building in Web3

• [07:00] Matteo & Raul’s Journey into Crypto

• [13:00] Understanding UTXO: Why It’s Better for DeFi

• [23:30] Fluid’s Current Products: Lending, Staking, and DEXs

• [30:00] The Future of Bitcoin OS and ZK Bridges

• [37:00] Pushing Bitcoin Script to Its Limits

• [45:00] The Role of Account Abstraction in DeFi’s UX Evolution

Follow Fluid Tokens:

• Website:https://fluidtokens.com/

• Twitter: @FluidTokensXBT

Follow me on Twitter: @JakeBlockchain

Stay updated on everything Built on Bitcoin podcast: https://www.builtonbitcoin.xyz/

Building something amazing on Bitcoin? Connect with us at the Bitcoin Frontier Fund. We invest in and assist the best early-stage founders building new use cases for Bitcoin.

Website: https://btcfrontier.fund/

Twitter: @BTCFrontierFund

Love y’all! See you in the next episode. Peace!

Bitcoin-Backed Stablecoins: A Deep Dive with Jakob Schillinger

Jakob Schillinger, CEO & Founder of Hermetica, joins me to discuss the exciting potential of Bitcoin-backed stablecoins. Hermetica is building a system of decentralized finance on Bitcoin, using stablecoins as a key building block.

In this conversation, we explore: [00:00] Bitcoin and Stablecoin Adoption Curve [08:10] Jakob's Journey into Bitcoin [18:50] The Different Types of Stables [27:30] What is Hermetica & How it Works. [47:45] Building Useful Products (Practically)

Follow Jakob Schillinger on Twitter: @Jakob_btc

Learn more about Hermetica: https://hermetica.fi/

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Follow me on Twitter: @JakeBlockchain

Stay updated on everything Built on Bitcoin podcast: https://www.builtonbitcoin.xyz/

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Building something amazing on Bitcoin? Connect with us at the Bitcoin Frontier Fund. We invest and assist the best early-stage founders building new user-cases for Bitcoin.

Website: https://www.btcfrontier.fund/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/BTCFrontierFund

Love yall! See you in the next episode. Peace!

Today we have Mithil Thakore, co-founder of Velar, on the podcast.

Velar is a DeFi application focused on providing yield on Bitcoin.

Mithil shares his journey in the crypto space, the vision behind Velar, and the importance of building on Bitcoin's secure infrastructure. The discussion delves into the differences between L1 and L2 solutions, the current product offerings of Velar, and an in-depth explanation of derivatives and perpetual contracts in the crypto market. The intricacies of perpetual decentralized exchanges (perp DEXs), their development, and the future of Bitcoin DeFi. He explains the differences between perpetual contracts and futures, the importance of liquidity and low latency in trading, and the trust assumptions involved in using Bitcoin Layer 2 solutions. Finally, he emphasizes the potential of decentralized finance on Bitcoin and his vision for it to surpass Ethereum DeFi in the coming years.

Follow Mithil on X: @RainFire09

Follow Velar on X: @velarBTC

Check out Velar on their website: https://velar.com/

The time to board the Ark is coming. Ark is a new off-chain scaling solution for Bitcoin that plays nicely with other off-chain protocols like Lightning.

Alex is the Head of Ecosystem at Ark Labs, in this conversation, we discuss:

• The current landscape of off-chain protocols
• How does Ark work?
• What will the UX feel like for users?
• Wen live on mainnet?
• Alex’s background in Bitcoin
• And much more.

Follow Ark Labs on Twitter: @ArkLabsHQ

Learn more about Ark: https://arklabs.to/

Best place to dive deeper:https://arkdev.info/docs/learn/intro

Counterparty is back in active development after taking a long hiatus. For the newer Bitcoiners that typically listen to this podcast, you may not know what Counterparty is.

In this conversation, we discuss:

• [0:00] Shitcoins on Bitcoin. 2014 vs Now.
• [4:40] Meta-Protocols vs Forking Bitcoin
• [6:52] Centralization Fears: Core Devs vs Mining
• [9:20] OP_Return Debate [11:00] Alternative tokens on Bitcoin
• [16:00] What is Counterparty
• [22:04] Counterparty 2.0: Big upgrades
• [28:25] What does XCP token do
• [31:10] Where do Counterparty'ers hang out
• [33:40] Future Roadmap
• [37:00] What Adam's most excited about

Follow Adam on Twitter: @agkrellenstein

Learn more about Counterparty: https://counterparty.io/

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Follow me on Twitter: @JakeBlockchain

Stay updated on everything Built on Bitcoin podcast: https://www.builtonbitcoin.xyz/

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Building something amazing on Bitcoin? Connect with us at the Bitcoin Frontier Fund. We invest and assist the best early-stage founders building new user-cases for Bitcoin.

Website: https://www.btcfrontier.fund/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/BTCFrontierFund

Love yall! See you in the next episode. Peace!

Setzeus is a prominent developer and educator in the Bitcoin space.

In this episode, we discuss his journey into the Bitcoin space and how he stays locked in as a founder. Tools his development house (Strata Labs) have built empowering developers with Bitscript and Rootkey. We also explore how Strata Labs operates as a development agency.

Follow Setzeus on Twitter: @setzeus

Check out Strata Labs: https://www.stratalabs.org/

Explore Bitscript: https://www.bitscript.app/

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Follow me on Twitter: @JakeBlockchain

Stay updated on everything Built on Bitcoin podcast: https://www.builtonbitcoin.xyz/

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Building something amazing on Bitcoin? Connect with us at the Bitcoin Frontier Fund.

We invest and assist the best early-stage founders building new user-cases for Bitcoin.

Website: https://www.btcfrontier.fund/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/BTCFrontierFund

Love yall! See you in the next episode. Peace!

Follow Charlie on X: @cbspears

Follow Donny on X: @itsdonnyok

Follow Jake on X: @jakeblockchain

This Bitcoin Weekly Kickback episode covers various topics related to proof of work and mining. It starts with a discussion about a project called the Rats, which involves inscribing rat-related things onto an inscription. The conversation then moves on to the effectiveness of proof of work for new chains and the challenges they face in competing with Bitcoin. The hosts express skepticism about the success of new proof of work networks and highlight the path dependency and adoption challenges they face. They also discuss the Bitax pleb mining initiative and its potential to contribute to the decentralization of mining. The conversation covers various topics including the potential of Bitcoin mining as a home-centric activity, the role of Nostra as a social media platform, and the concept of micro-payments. The hosts discuss the implications of pleb mining and how it can lead to a better understanding of Bitcoin. They also explore the challenges and potential centralization of Nostra as a social media platform. Additionally, they touch on the idea of streaming Satoshis and the importance of micro-payments. The conversation concludes with a brief mention of Magic Eden and its token launch.

Ordinalsbot is one of the most successful companies in the Ordinals space.

In this episode, Brian Laughlan discusses his journey from launching a collection called Satoshibles on Ethereum to building on Bitcoin with Ordinals. He highlights the advantages of storing data on-chain and the challenges of high fees. We also his process of iterating on product and understanding what to build next.

Follow Brian on Twitter: @bruffstar

Check out Ordinalsbot: https://ordinalsbot.com/

On this latest Bitcoin Weekly we discuss the Babylon Mainnet launch, Fractal Bitcoin Sidechain, The state of discourse on Bitcoin Twitter, East vs West and how they invest differently, Proof-of-Work being zero sum, the effects of the Ordinals numbering debate on devs, and much more.

Follow Charlie on X: @cbspears

Follow Donny on X: @itsdonnyok

Follow Bob on X: @bobbodily

Follow Jake on X: @jakeblockchain

Sound Bites

"People have been craving the pod. I'm gonna waste no time. Let's just jump right in."

"The general idea of development and pushing forward on Bitcoin is thrilling."

"The number of developers who are competent in the ordinals and ordinals adjacent type dev activities are limited."

"Fractal would be a pretty good testnet... It sounds like a terrible idea."

"Either ETH wins or Bitcoin wins, but one has to slowly die or they're both easily more attackable."

"BitVM2 is good enough for a specific bridging use case... LPs can come in and make it possible."