Alex is Head of Ecosystem at Ark Labs. We discuss their new bitcoin protocol: Arkade. It can be used with the lightning network to make self custody bitcoin usage more powerful and accessible. This rip was in person, in Lugano. We are both here for the PlanB Forum.

Alex B on Nostr: https://primal.net/alexb
Alex B on X: https://x.com/bergealex4
Ark Labs: https://arklabs.xyz/
PlanB Forum: https://planb.lugano.ch/planb-forum/

EPISODE: 182
BLOCK: 920390
PRICE:  915 sats per dollar

(00:00:35) Arkade Activation Day in Lugano

(00:03:11) What is Ark? Positioning vs. Lightning and L2s

(00:04:32) Ark fundamentals: batching, VTXOs, and two-of-two with an operator

(00:08:38) Double-spend risks and the operator trust model

(00:10:24) Settling vs. zero conf: anchoring batches onchain

(00:16:04) Beyond cheap payments: programmable offchain Bitcoin

(00:18:12) Ark Lightning swaps and unilateral exits

(00:21:01) Unilateral exit costs, trees of transactions, and anchoring cadence

(00:26:17) Wallet UX: automating settlement and exposure management

(00:27:22) Ark vs. Spark: security model and settlement feedback to L1

(00:34:39) Onchain demand: Lightning realities, Spark cadence, Ark batches

(00:36:59) Ark is tech, Arkade is implementation

(00:37:45) Batch frequency and scaling: hundreds per batch, Taproot efficiency

(00:38:41) Covenants soft fork would cut interactivity overhead

(00:42:01) Users, servers, and always on clients: who runs what?

(00:45:02) DeFi on Arkade: loans, new opcodes, and secondary markets

(00:47:00) Credit, derivatives, and Bitcoinization

(00:55:06) Company model: Ark Labs, open source Arkade, and revenue

(01:01:02) Flagship apps strategy: neo-bank, swaps, prediction markets

(01:07:05) Try it today: arkade.money PWA and roadmap to native apps

(01:12:05) Operators landscape: competition, network effects, resilience

(01:15:27) Closing thoughts: adapt, focus, and take the white pill

more info on the show: https://citadeldispatch.com
learn more about me: https://odell.xyz

Francis is the Founder of Bull Bitcoin, one of the best bitcoin brokerage services. They recently launched a self custody mobile wallet on ios and android: Bull Wallet. This rip was earlier today, in person, in Lugano. We are both here for the PlanB Forum.

Francis on Nostr: https://primal.net/francis
Francis on X: https://x.com/francispouliot_
Bull Wallet: https://wallet.bullbitcoin.com
PlanB Forum: https://planb.lugano.ch/planb-forum/

EPISODE: 181
BLOCK: 920238
PRICE: 929 sats per dollar

(00:00:00) Catching up from Lugano: old rips, 2019 memories, and lore

(00:01:07) Introducing Bull Wallet: goals, BDK under the hood, and UX vision

(00:02:21) Lightning lessons: LDK attempts, liquidity pain, and Phoenix tradeoffs

(00:04:38) Fee shocks and “just-in-time” channels: why Liquid entered the plan

(00:06:24) Liquid + Boltz atomic swaps: architecture, Rootstock notes, and standards push

(00:07:37) Designing for privacy and power users: Sparrow on mobile, Payjoin journey

(00:12:21) Data minimization in practice: no push, no cloud leaks, strict dependencies

(00:13:56) Shipping realities: iOS approval grind and cross‑platform necessity

(00:15:11) Secure versus Instant: Liquid framing, hype cycles, and collaborative custody

(00:19:13) The UX–compromise matrix: placing Liquid among trust models

(00:21:24) Auto‑swap safety rails: keeping Liquid balances modest by default

(00:24:26) Confidential transactions and buying flows: privacy wins via Liquid

(00:27:24) Swap providers and resilience: Boltz today, multi‑provider tomorrow

(00:31:05) Builders who ship: moving fast, potentially Ark or Spark in the future

(00:32:11) Why Ark: unilateral exits, pre‑confirmed states, and costs

(00:50:00) Ark tradeoffs without soft forks: watchtowers, refresh, and liveness

(00:57:15) Ark vs Liquid in Bull Wallet: timelines, reckless testing, and user defaults

(01:04:12) Payjoin, heuristics, and passive consolidation

(01:11:01) Consolidation strategies: Liquid swaps, CT, and fee‑aware UTXO management

(01:15:48) Lightning address UX with Liquid: directories, costs, and tiny payments

(01:17:10) Nostr as a wallet backend: zaps, contact book, and secure comms

(01:18:01) Multisig in practice: BitPay’s UX, Miniscript future, and mobile approvals

(01:20:19) Operator messaging and alerts: following npubs inside the app

(01:20:49) Core v30, OP_RETURN, and policy vs consensus

(01:31:09) Funding open source: OpenSats, private companies, and shipping culture

(01:35:15) Why open source keeps us sane: creativity, legacy, and closing notes

more info on the show: https://citadeldispatch.com
learn more about me: https://odell.xyz

My keynote presentation at the Imagine If conference in Nashville focused on how i think about scaling freedom tech.

Date: September 20, 2025

OpenSats: https://opensats.org
Ten31: https://ten31.xyz
Imagine If: https://bitcoinpark.com/imagineif

(01:02) ODELL takes the stage

(01:23) Diagnosing the problem

(02:35) Ad driven surveillance and addictive platforms

(03:04) Open source and open protocols

(03:49) Scaling open source: incentives and funding

(04:26) OpenSats and Bitcoin powered grants

(05:25) Email, an open protocol, and Gmails predatory model

(06:42) Make freedom profitable: align incentives

(06:54) Ten31 thesis: sustainable, user-aligned businesses

(07:28) Case study: Start9 and self-hosted services

(08:16) Case study: Maples private AI and open API

(08:51) Case study: Primal on Nostr and Bitcoin

(09:37) Case study: Strike and low switching costs

(10:25) Closing call to action: profit drives scalability

Video:  https://primal.net/e/nevent1qqs8g25llcvddu2cacsglckxks2afya2c27pt6g3qf3rh5rma3eachsg5mu8s

more info on the show: https://citadeldispatch.com
learn more about me: https://odell.xyz

A conversation with Adam Back at Bitcoin Park's Custody and Treasury Summit in Nashville, TN. We discuss the current state of bitcoin custody and how it applies to individuals, small businesses, and public companies.

Date: September 18, 2025

Adam on Nostr: https://primal.net/adamback
Adam on X: https://x.com/adam3us
Bitcoin Park on Nostr: https://primal.net/park
Bitcoin Park: https://bitcoinpark.com/

(00:00) Teaser

(01:07) Not your keys, not your coins

(01:49) Why self custody matters: seizure and asset protection

(03:06) Early Bitcoin legal fears and Obama’s Swiss bank quote

(03:54) Individuals adopt self custody; shift to business treasuries

(04:22) Custody advice for small businesses and dentists

(05:34) Multisig basics, redundancy, and vendor diversity

(06:45) Single sig vs multi sig usability and learning curve

(07:32) Practical setups: single sig cold storage and backups

(08:24) Keeping multiple backups

(09:06) Fireproof steel backups and moving to treasury topics

(09:30) Public companies using custodians: risks and drivers

(10:48) Collaborative custody among custodians and decaying multisig

(12:10) Balancing third party risk vs operational self custody risk

(12:43) Finality, time locks, and covenant based safety nets

(13:59) Why multisig is essential for large organizations

(14:56) Industry pushback and the case for proof of reserves

(16:20) Adoption of proof of reserves and hybrid treasury strategies

(16:51) Closing and audience Q&A intro

Video: https://primal.net/e/nevent1qqsxtltftjfavnlg8ysjvnn9504l40ykq8hdw25pcmaljwdx0xp9wyswev5e3 

more info on the show: https://citadeldispatch.com
learn more about me: https://odell.xyz

Miljan is the Founder and CEO of Primal. Bitcoin is an open protocol for money, nostr is an open protocol for speech, Primal brings the power of both into an easy to use interface for everyone.

Search Primal in your favorite app store!

Miljan on Nostr: https://primal.net/miljan

EPISODE: 180
BLOCK: 917284
PRICE: 842 sats per dollar

(00:00) Ten31 retreat

(01:02) Retreat impressions and collaboration

(01:32) How many bitcoiners

(03:01) Estimating self custody users and real audience sizes

(05:09) Stalled growth and focusing Primal on Bitcoiners

(06:07) Curated "Getting Started" invite packs

(09:14) Solving empty feeds: recommendations vs. decentralization

(12:02) Improving follow discovery

(14:53) Retention over onboarding: first-touch UX matters

(16:11) Empowering users with tools, not surveillance models

(18:08) Aligning incentives: Primal’s user-paid model

(19:42) Live streaming on Nostr: open spec meets clean UI

(22:20) Not competing with TikTok: high-signal over dopamine

(25:06) Platform risk for streamers and Nostr’s modular freedom

(28:05) Unified chat, zaps, and the magic of interoperable apps

(29:25) Nostr’s organic growth

(31:06) Creators’ final destination

(34:50) AI in social: open models, features, and roadmap thoughts

(41:05) Deepfakes, authenticity, and signed content value

(46:02) Keys, key-rotation, and building resilient identity tools

(49:28) Practical key management: tradeoffs from phone to multisig

(53:12) Closing thoughts

more info on the show: https://citadeldispatch.com
learn more about me: https://odell.xyz

Seth is VP of Cake Wallet, a self custody bitcoin wallet available on ios, android, and desktop. We discuss their new offline companion app, Cupcake, and variety of other privacy related topics.

Seth on Nostr: https://primal.net/sethforprivacy
Seth on X: https://x.com/sethforprivacy
Cake Wallet: https://cakewallet.com/

EPISODE: 179
BLOCK: 916494
PRICE: 909 sats per dollar

(00:00:01) UK Digital ID Dystopia

(00:01:02) Happy Bitcoin Friday

(00:03:01) Samourai arrests fallout and Ashigaru vs Wasabi vs JoinMarket

(00:06:49) Coordinator trust, liquidity, and taint/frozen funds

(00:12:10) Cake Wallet updates and unveiling Cupcake signer

(00:15:36) How Cupcake works: air-gapped signer, BCUR/BBQR, threat models

(00:19:01) Travel, opsec, and device choices for Cupcake

(00:21:30) Cupcake’s scope vs hardware wallets

(00:25:21) Multisig discussions, open standards, and future features

(00:29:43) Single sig and practical custody advice

(00:30:29) Recent Monero Attack

(00:36:21) ASIC resistance debate and Monero reorg analysis

(00:41:02) Wild idea: switch Monero to Litecoin’s Scrypt ASICs

(00:43:19) Lightning in Cake Wallet: evaluating Ark vs Spark

(00:49:37) Spark’s pragmatism, privacy concerns, and operators

(00:56:40) Strike/Primal, Cashu, and custodial vs self-custodial tradeoffs

(00:58:56) Hands-on with Spark in Wallet of Satoshi beta

(01:05:02) Bitcoin privacy outlook: Silent Payments, PayJoin, Lightning

(01:06:14) Silent Payments UX: Frigate server model and performance

(01:09:17) Run your own node for privacy and practical setups

(01:09:51) Closing reflections: builders vs discourse, optimism

Video: https://primal.net/e/nevent1qqsqmytsgrtq3s8zeqt6cgfsw4vlemyfrz5z02ylhkp7tm08ztuc2ysryw55x

more info on the show: https://citadeldispatch.com
learn more about me: https://odell.xyz

A conversation with Shawn Yeager and Derek Ross at the Imagine If conference in Nashville, TN. We discuss the current state of digital communications and identity with a specific focus on nostr.

Date: September 20, 2025

Shawn on Nostr: https://primal.net/shawn
Derek on Nostr: https://primal.net/derekross
Bitcoin Park on Nostr: https://primal.net/park
Imagine If: https://bitcoinpark.com/imagineif

(00:40) Future of digital comms, identity, social

(01:41) Diagnosing the problems: incentives, KYC, and broken trust

(03:05) Censorship, shadow bans, and owning your social graph

(05:00) AI, deepfakes, and can we trust what we see?

(07:24) Algorithmic control vs user choice

(10:10) Introducing Nostr: open protocol, healthier engagement

(11:54) Digital health, doomscrolling, and parenting challenges

(15:21) Youth safety on open protocols: responsibilities and tools

(18:22) Give parents the tools: OS-level controls and UX

(19:35) Getting started with Nostr: keys, Primal, and UX spectrum

(21:17) Vibe-coding apps: Soapbox/Shakespeare on Nostr + Bitcoin

(22:39) Permissionless payments and AI-built sites

Video:  https://primal.net/e/nevent1qqs0v7rgjh55wygwuc8pmqvk0qz6qts30uaut2c8lp4dgh9usw2cdpgnznwd9

more info on the show: https://citadeldispatch.com
learn more about me: https://odell.xyz

Justin and Brad are contributors to the Fedimint open source project. Fedimint is an open protocol providing easy to use, private, programmable, and offline bitcoin payments using bitcoin powered federated chaumian ecash.

Justin on Nostr: https://primal.net/p/nprofile1qqspg8fq209jj56663d2n6r9ehkyjffy7rkqqejfdwvtwzva426avkqxtxxuv
Fedimint Website: https://fedimint.org/
Fedimint on X: https://x.com/fedimint
The E-Cash App: https://ecash.love/
Fedimint Observer: https://observer.fedimint.org/
Bitcoin Mints: https://bitcoinmints.com/
Harbor Desktop App: https://harbor.cash/
Iroh: https://www.iroh.computer/

EPISODE: 178
BLOCK: 914982
PRICE: 863 sats per dollar

(00:03:11) Happy Bitcoin Tuesday

(00:04:13) Fedimint and Cashu

(00:10:49) Fedimint's On-Chain and Lightning Integration

(00:18:46) Challenges and Solutions in Fedimint's Development

(00:39:08) Fedimint Operator Setup and Challenges

(00:51:00) Backup and Recovery in Fedimint

(01:02:02) Future Developments and Community Engagement

Video: https://primal.net/e/nevent1qqsvswtcudcf2j55ac4yrphsm37ep9acp27ctap9dt8zvy6p5wzywgcrax3wu

more info on the show: https://citadeldispatch.com
learn more about me: https://odell.xyz

Mark Suman is CoFounder of OpenSecret and Maple. OpenSecret is a platform for building private and secure apps and Maple is an AI tool built using OpenSecret. Maple offers users and developers an easy way to interact with popular open source AI models.

Marks on Nostr: https://primal.net/marks
Marks on X: https://x.com/marks_ftw
Maple on Nostr: https://primal.net/mapleai
Maple on X: https://x.com/TryMapleAI
Maple: https://trymaple.ai/
OpenSecret: https://opensecret.cloud/

EPISODE: 177
BLOCK: 913963
PRICE: 898 sats per dollar

(00:01:38) Happy Bitcoin Tuesday

(00:03:05) Marks and Maple AI

(00:07:10) Apple's AI Strategy and Product Unveiling

(00:11:40) Privacy and Security in AI with Maple

(00:19:59) Open Source AI Models and Industry Trends

(00:27:02) Freedom of Thought and AI's Influence

(00:39:00) User Experience and Privacy in Maple AI

(00:48:50) AI and Parenting

(01:02:41) Maple AI Developer API and Proxy Feature

(01:16:00) Open Secret and Maple AI: Company Overview

Video: https://primal.net/e/nevent1qqsx7ypznejxgujpqdwnch5w6pzeh03pn9fvr5guqpry930e7w3yqycllz5km

more info on the show: https://citadeldispatch.com
learn more about me: https://odell.xyz

Egge is a key contributor of the cashu protocol, focused on private, cheap, offline, and programmable bitcoin wallets. We dive deep on cashu, nostr, and the broader bitcoin ecosystem.

Egge on Nostr: https://primal.net/p/nprofile1qqsdmup6e2z6mcpeue6z6kl08he49hcen5xnrc3tnpvw0mdgtjemh0suxa0kj
npub.cash: https://npub.cash/
cashu.me: https://cashu.me
cashu.space: https://cashu.space/

EPISODE: 176
BLOCK: 913322
PRICE: 899 sats per dollar

(00:01:18) Happy Bitcoin Friday

(00:03:19) Nostr Live Streaming and Open Protocols

(00:04:41) Egge: Creator of npub.cash

(00:05:53) Understanding npub.cash and Lightning Addresses

(00:09:15) The Evolution of npub.cash

(00:14:07) Challenges with Redeeming Zaps

(00:18:50) Future Improvements in Cashu Protocol

(00:22:23) Cashu Ecosystem and Development

(00:27:00) Mint Discovery and User Experience

(00:36:00) Public Infrastructure and Vibe Coding

(00:43:06) The Future of Mint Operations

(00:51:00) Risks and Responsibilities of Running Mints

(00:57:54) Improving Mint Discovery and Recommendations

(01:06:19) User Experience Challenges in Cashu

(01:13:08) Implementing Cashu

(01:17:11) Point of Sale Systems with Cashu

(01:24:03) Bolt 12 and Future Payment Protocols

(01:30:57) The Potential of Cashu and Nostr

Video: https://primal.net/e/nevent1qqsx7ypznejxgujpqdwnch5w6pzeh03pn9fvr5guqpry930e7w3yqycllz5km

more info on the show: https://citadeldispatch.com
learn more about me: https://odell.xyz