Escape the Technocracy

Gabriel Custodiet speaks with the creator of BTCPay, Nicolas Dorier. BTCPay is the most promising option at present for non-custody Bitcoin payment processing, and solves the legacy finance problems of KYC, discrimination, and cancellation. This episode covers all of the basic questions one might have when setting up BTCPay, including sovereignty and privacy questions.

Guest Links → https://btcpayserver.org/ → https://twitter.com/BtcpayServer → https://twitter.com/NicolasDorier → https://chat.btcpayserver.org → Luna Node setup instructions (easiest way to set up BTCPay): https://youtu.be/oce_fvRdLLY

Other Links → https://sethforprivacy.com/guides/accepting-monero-via-btcpay-server (Monero BTCPay guide)

MY PREMIUM NEWSLETTER → http://watchmanstorch.com → Join my exclusive privacy community

MY PRIVACY TUTORIALS → https://escapethetechnocracy.com/ (including consulting) → https://watchmanprivacy.com (Gabriel's personal site) → https://twitter.com/watchmanprivacy

SUPPORT INDEPENDENT GONZO TECHNO-ADVENTURE JOURNALISM → No sponsors. No ads. Just truth. → https://watchmanprivacy.com/donate.html

Timeline

0:00 – Introduction 1:46 – Summary of BTCPay 3:23 – Nicolas Dorier's famous tweet 5:35 – Bitcoin services' movement toward custodial compliance 9:28 – How could BTCPay get shut down? 10:58 – Any KYC required to use BTCPay? 12:38 – Problem of BTCPay complexity 17:37 – Two ways to use BTCPay; vulnerabilities of running your own home node 19:40 – Quickest way to set up BTCPay 20:48 – Vulnerabilities of using BTCPay on Luna Server 23:15 – Reliance of BTCPay on VPS: a problem? 24:14 – How quick is BTCPay processing for customers? 26:45 – Legacy finance much worse at processing, if we're being honest 27:58 – Privacy benefits of BTCPay; PayJoin 30:58 – How to handle customer funds 32:00 – Other options for collecting BTC donations 33:24 – Using a friend's node to run BTCPay 34:35 – Biggest hurdles for Bitcoin to be used day-to-day 36:42 – What happens to data we collect from customers? 37:55 – BTCPay with WooCommerce and Shopify 39:20 – Customer returns 41:31 – How quick to set up BTCPay for Shopify 42:55 – BTCPay is a solution for censorship and legacy finance unreliability 45:43 – How sustainable is this free service? 47:30 – Collecting Monero using BTCPay 48:50 – Final thoughts

#WatchmanPrivacy #BTCPay #Bitcoin #NicolasDorier #BitcoinPrivacy

Gabriel Custodiet speaks with Zelko and S2L1 about GrapheneOS and phone privacy. Along the way they explain their pre-built GrapheneOS and CalyxOS phones which they call RoninMobile. This is a great overall introduction to phone privacy.

Guest Links → https://ronindojo.io/en/roninmobile → https://twitter.com/GuerraMoneta (aka s2l1) → https://twitter.com/BTCxZelko (Zelko) → https://twitter.com/RoninDojoNode

MY PREMIUM NEWSLETTER → http://watchmanstorch.com → Join my exclusive privacy community

MY PRIVACY TUTORIALS → https://escapethetechnocracy.com/ (including consulting) → https://watchmanprivacy.com (Gabriel's personal site) → https://twitter.com/watchmanprivacy

SUPPORT INDEPENDENT GONZO TECHNO-ADVENTURE JOURNALISM → No sponsors. No ads. Just truth. → https://watchmanprivacy.com/donate.html

Timeline

0:00 – Introduction 1:54 – Types of phone privacy 3:58 – Why only now do we have decent private phone operating systems? 6:10 – GrapheneOS vs CalyxOS 10:20 – RoninMobile prices and countries available 12:48 – Is Ronin logo printed onto the RoninMobile phones? 14:40 – Does Pixel version matter? 15:48 – Wait… buy a Google phone? 17:50 – Why is it so difficult to have private phone service? 21:32 – How Gabriel uses a phone 22:57 – How important is it to get a new phone when pursuing phone privacy? 24:45 – What are iPhones and Android phones collecting about us? 26:47 – VOIP options 28:40 – Background of GrapheneOS 31:38 – Basic benefits of GrapheneOS 34:20 – Inconveniences of removing Google services 38:36 – Is Waze dysfunctional on GrapheneOS or just defeats the point of a privacy phone? 39:59 – F-Droid before Aurora Store 43:25 – Other little features of GrapheneOS 44:50 – RoninMobile 48:05 – Ronin concerned about getting shut down? 51:14 – Your own phone privacy practices

#WatchmanPrivacy #RoninDojo #GrapheneOS #RoninMobile #PhonePrivacy

Gabriel Custodiet speaks to the CEO of private email company Skiff, Andrew Milich. They discuss what is meant by private email, including all of the fundamental questions that surround that topic. Milich explains along the way the hidden complexities of email and how Skiff has made decisions as a privacy-focused company. As always, this episode aims to be the definitive conversation on the topic, covering the fundamentals as well as the pertinent tech questions.

Guest Links → https://skiff.com/ → https://twitter.com/skiffprivacy → https://discord.com/invite/skiff (Discord)

MY PREMIUM NEWSLETTER → http://watchmanstorch.com → Join my exclusive privacy community

MY PRIVACY TUTORIALS → https://escapethetechnocracy.com/ (including consulting) → https://watchmanprivacy.com (Gabriel's personal site) → https://twitter.com/watchmanprivacy

SUPPORT INDEPENDENT GONZO TECHNO-ADVENTURE JOURNALISM → No sponsors. No ads. Just truth. → https://watchmanprivacy.com/donate.html

Timeline

0:00 – Introduction 1:48 – What is email privacy? 4:38 – Why is email so complex? 7:30 – How much data do Gmail and Yahoo collect? 9:18 – Why so few private email options until recently? 11:44 – Reputation is huge part of email 16:45 – Zero knowledge prevents data breach damage 18:04 – Example of what can be seen about an email conversation 19:17 – How we expose ourselves on email that we don't realize 21:45 – Inevitable abuse of private email options 24:56 – Andrew's response to Proton's logging of IP address 28:52 – Results of Skiff's audits 31:48 – Skiff's minimalism 34:47 – Rapid fire questions 38:26 – Skiff Pages 39:49 – Skiff Drive 41:30 – Easy to switch to Skiff from other email service? 43:15 – Any popular features not currently available in Skiff? 44:49 – Should we be concerned about US company and US servers? 46:32 – IPFS and decentralized features of Skiff 47:42 – The future of email 49:01 – Skiff prices and Andrew's email practices 50:37 – Final thoughts

#WatchmanPrivacy #Skiff #PrivateEmail #DigitalPrivacy

Gabriel Custodiet speaks to Dgoon, creator of Anon Shop, a Monero-only website that forwards packages to a designated location of your choosing. Dgoon explains the basics of the service, how he handles your data, and how he runs a trust-based company. He also explains why he's one of the only people to create something like it, and offers other insights such as how to "age" Amazon accounts as privacy users.

Guest Links → https://anonshop.anonindustries.com/ (main website) → https://twitter.com/AnonIndustries_ → https://www.reddit.com/r/Monero/comments/zprhwr/anonymous_shopping_using_amazon_lockers_and_monero/ (original Reddit post) → https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJhUULkUHVZKDMkhJlmGOGQ (YouTube channel) → https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5422392.msg61324168#msg61324168 (forum post) → https://sethforprivacy.com/guides/accepting-monero-via-btcpay-server/

MY PREMIUM NEWSLETTER → http://watchmanstorch.com → Join my exclusive privacy community

MY PRIVACY TUTORIALS → https://escapethetechnocracy.com/ (including consulting) → https://watchmanprivacy.com (Gabriel's personal site) → https://twitter.com/watchmanprivacy

SUPPORT INDEPENDENT GONZO TECHNO-ADVENTURE JOURNALISM → No sponsors. No ads. Just truth. → https://watchmanprivacy.com/donate.html

Timeline

0:00 – Introduction 1:01 – Explanation of Anon Shop 2:40 – Why Monero-only? 6:22 – How to get Monero 7:50 – Why haven't other people done your service? 10:09 – Any issues with Amazon Lockers? 13:20 – General advice for managing Amazon accounts as privacy users 16:10 – How does Anon Shop deal with customer data? 18:34 – What about package forwarding? 20:38 – Have you ever refused an item? 22:00 – Weirdest items people have purchased on Amazon 22:52 – Fees for using Anon Shop 23:15 – Are you concerned about Amazon shutting you down? 24:30 – International orders 26:20 – How do refunds work? 28:02 – How can we trust you? 29:55 – Doing taxes and accounting with cryptocurrency 31:12 – How do you use Monero in your own life? 33:02 – What if people don't have an Amazon Locker nearby? 33:52 – Use Tor when searching Amazon for link to give Anon Shop 34:24 – How quickly does your service work? 35:30 – How can privacy users "age" Amazon accounts 36:20 – Future plans for Anon Shop 36:50 – Summary of Anon Shop and use cases 37:35 – Dgoon's other software products 39:49 – Final thoughts

#WatchmanPrivacy #AnonShop #Monero

Gabriel Custodiet gives the floor to Urban Hacker again to explain what a Tor relay is and how to run one. They cover why you should run a relay, why you shouldn't run an exit relay, and why Bitcoiners in particular have an obligation to run a relay in their homes. Urban Hacker offers a lot of insider details, such as what to expect from your ISP, what equipment you need, how to protect your home router, and why a Tor bridge might be the best way to start.

Tor Links → https://community.torproject.org/relay/ → https://metrics.torproject.org/rs.html → https://community.torproject.org/relay/setup/bridge/

Guest Links → https://urbanhacker.net/ → https://twitter.com/realUrbanHacker → https://t.me/Realurbanhacker (Telegram) → https://geyser.fund/project/theorangepillsimulator (Urban Hacker's Bitcoin game)

MY PREMIUM NEWSLETTER → http://watchmanstorch.com → Join my exclusive privacy community

MY PRIVACY TUTORIALS → https://escapethetechnocracy.com/ (including consulting) → https://watchmanprivacy.com (Gabriel's personal site) → https://twitter.com/watchmanprivacy

SUPPORT INDEPENDENT GONZO TECHNO-ADVENTURE JOURNALISM → No sponsors. No ads. Just truth. → https://watchmanprivacy.com/donate.html

Timeline

0:00 – Introduction 1:26 – What is a Tor Relay? 2:23 – Three types of relays 4:03 – Which relay should a beginner run? 6:34 – What do we know about people who run Tor relays? 8:25 – Does one connect to one's own relay? 9:38 – What does your ISP see when you run a Tor relay? 12:36 – Basic requirements for running a Tor relay 15:55 – Hardware requirements 20:13 – Personal consequences of running a Tor relay 24:43 – First steps to setting up a relay; what to expect 28:33 – Common mistakes 30:48 – Running a Tor bridge 33:29 – Snowflake 36:20 – Why should Bitcoiners care about Tor relays? 38:48 – Final thoughts

#WatchmanPrivacy #TorNetwork #TorRelay #BitcoinPrivacy

Gabriel Custodiet gives the floor to Urban Hacker to give a ground-level history of the Tor network, one of the most important privacy projects in digital history. Urban Hacker begins with Tor's predecessors, such as mixed networks and remailers. He explains Tor's origins in the hands of the US Navy, how China altered its trajectory, and how its basic features work. He finishes with practical tips about when and when not to use Tor.

Guest Links → https://urbanhacker.net/ → https://twitter.com/realUrbanHacker → https://t.me/Realurbanhacker (Telegram) → https://tallycoin.app/@realurbanhacker/the-orange-pill-simulator-zzjq3lmF (Urban Hacker's Bitcoin game)

MY PREMIUM NEWSLETTER → http://watchmanstorch.com → Join my exclusive privacy community

MY PRIVACY TUTORIALS → https://escapethetechnocracy.com/ (including consulting) → https://watchmanprivacy.com (Gabriel's personal site) → https://twitter.com/watchmanprivacy

SUPPORT INDEPENDENT GONZO TECHNO-ADVENTURE JOURNALISM → No sponsors. No ads. Just truth. → https://watchmanprivacy.com/donate.html

Timeline

0:00 – Introduction 2:16 – Predecessors to Tor: remailers and mix networks 8:00 – Drawbacks of remailers 11:14 – Inception of Tor network 15:21 – How does Tor network function? 19:59 – How does Tor gain prominence? 25:00 – Tor vs VPN 27:30 – Challenges of Tor throughout its history 34:02 – Various ways to make use of Tor 37:47 – When should we not use Tor? 41:42 – Should we adjust Tor settings? 42:34 – Proper Tor etiquette 44:08 – Urban Hacker's Bitcoin game: The Orange Pill Simulator

#WatchmanPrivacy #TorNetwork #Tor #BitcoinPrivacy

Gabriel Custodiet speaks with the creator and core developer of Sparrow Wallet, Craig Raw. They discuss some of Craig's background and his world, such as the dangers of South Africa and how they influence his mindset. Craig gives his insights into the history of Bitcoin wallets, his own coin control tactics, and the broader issues and potential paths of Bitcoin. If you're just starting with Bitcoin privacy, please see more introductory episodes such as Episode 27: https://youtu.be/Qz1-uiQZUUQ

Guest Links → https://www.sparrowwallet.com/ → https://twitter.com/craigraw → https://t.me/SparrowWallet (Sparrow Telegram; beware impostors)

MY PREMIUM NEWSLETTER → http://watchmanstorch.com → Join my exclusive privacy community

MY PRIVACY TUTORIALS → https://escapethetechnocracy.com/ (including consulting) → https://watchmanprivacy.com (Gabriel's personal site) → https://twitter.com/watchmanprivacy

SUPPORT INDEPENDENT GONZO TECHNO-ADVENTURE JOURNALISM → No sponsors. No ads. Just truth. → https://watchmanprivacy.com/donate.html

Timeline

0:00 – Introduction 3:01 – How many people are using Sparrow Wallet? 3:58 – The problem of self-custody 6:39 – Why Sparrow as a symbol? 9:13 – Dangers of South Africa; how it influences Craig Raw's worldview 14:43 – History of Bitcoin wallets 19:57 – What would happen to Sparrow if Craig Raw disappeared? 22:45 – Why do we have to wait for Whirlpooling? 28:10 – How does Craig Raw do coin control? 32:07 – How safe is Sparrow Wallet as a hot wallet? 35:55 – How to "start over" with compromised wallets 38:40 – What should we do with bad bank UTXOs? 40:34 – Should Bitcoin be a store of value or medium of exchange? 43:10 – Craig a proponent of making Bitcoin more private on Layer 1? 45:03 – How would we change the encryption of Bitcoin if needed in the future? 47:47 – Importance of slow changes to Sparrow Wallet 51:17 – What Bitcoin services does Craig Raw use? 53:30 – Final thoughts

#WatchmanPrivacy #SparrowWallet #CraigRaw #BitcoinPrivacy

Gabriel Custodiet speaks with Samourai Wallet, the main speaker for the eponymous Bitcoin privacy wallet company. This wide-ranging discussion covers the myth of Bitcoin being a "surveillance coin," chain analytics companies, the history of Samourai and Bitcoin privacy wallets, and the trailblazing techniques of how SW runs an online, globally-dispersed business that does not compromise on its values. For more introductory information on Samourai Wallet, please start with this video: https://youtu.be/icyeO70ICi4 and then continue to this one: https://youtu.be/HNeYNTadDiE. You can also make use of the Samourai privacy tools by using the Sparrow Wallet, which we have discussed regularly on this show. That will be the preferred method for many.

Guest Links → https://samouraiwallet.com/ → https://twitter.com/samouraiwallet → https://twitter.com/SamouraiDev (Samourai Wallet's partner) → https://twitter.com/LaurentMT (Creator of OXT.me) → https://t.me/SamouraiWallet (Telegram group) → https://oxt.me/ (Blockchain explorer) → https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QEnL5k0R08w&list=PLIBmWVGQhizLrPjpFMN5bQdbOZRxCQXUg (Bitcoin Privacy Series)

Resources Mentioned → Roman Sterlingov case: https://www.podpage.com/citadeldispatch/cd100-the-disturbing-chainalysis-led-prosecution-of-roman-sterlingov-with-mike-hassard-and-tor-ekeland/

MY PREMIUM NEWSLETTER → http://watchmanstorch.com → Join my exclusive privacy community

MY PRIVACY TUTORIALS → https://escapethetechnocracy.com/ (including consulting) → https://watchmanprivacy.com (Gabriel's personal site) → https://twitter.com/watchmanprivacy

SUPPORT INDEPENDENT GONZO TECHNO-ADVENTURE JOURNALISM → No sponsors. No ads. Just truth. → https://watchmanprivacy.com/donate.html

Timeline

**BITCOIN PRIVACY** 0:00 – Introduction 1:48 – Bitcoin is not a "surveillance coin" – two scenarios 10:50 – Roman Sterlingov case and chain analytics 13:20 – Chain analytic and surveillance companies 19:52 – Bitcoiners punished for FUTURE transactions? 22:44 – What would you say to mainstream Bitcoiners? 25:47 – How to learn about blockchain analytics; OXT.me **SAMOURAI WALLET** 29:30 – History of Bitcoin privacy wallets 32:32 – Where did idea of Whirlpool come from? 36:34 – Why is SW Android only? 38:32 – How would Samourai Wallet start up his own wallet? 41:43 – Why aren't some privacy features on by default? 48:13 – Samourai's connection with Sparrow Wallet 51:03 – Can we trust the Centralized Coordinator of Whirlpool? 55:58 – Update on Decentralized Coordinator 57:24 – Which features of Samourai Wallet would you use? 1:04:01 – What would you do if you controlled Satoshi's wallet? **POLITICS AND PHILOSOPHY** 1:10:30 – Privacy is not a human right; it's a human fight 1:13:40 – Justification of "not being polite" on Twitter 1:18:36 – Pushback from mainstream Bitcoiners 1:27:57 – Samourai Wallet core values **RUNNING AN ANTIFRAGILE BUSINESS** 1:29:58 – Privacy methods for running a business 1:33:24 – Self-hosting everything 1:35:30 – Where did he learn all of this? 1:37:18 – Evacuating the UK over AML nonsense 1:41:26 – How to live on Bitcoin-only 1:45:40 – Atomic swaps with Monero 1:47:39 – Final thoughts

#WatchmanPrivacy #SamouraiWallet #BitcoinPrivacy

Gabriel Custodiet speaks with Matt Smith, who this audience will know as the producer of Doug Casey's Take. They discuss Matt's entrepreneurial ascent and his move to Uruguay, which Matt selected as the optimal place to wait out the impending disaster of our time...

Guest Links → https://twitter.com/mattpheus → https://www.youtube.com/@DougCaseysTake → https://www.youtube.com/@terraeden (Matt's ranch in Uruguay) → https://phyle.co/ (Matt's and Doug's online community)

Sources mentioned → Epictetus → The Unsettling of America by Wendell Berry → https://www.lewrockwell.com/ → The Drudge Report → https://www.unz.com/ → https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdeMVChrumySxV9N1w0Au-w (The Duran) → https://johnrobb.substack.com/ (John Robb) → https://www.youtube.com/c/thenewatlas (The New Atlas)

MY PREMIUM NEWSLETTER → http://watchmanstorch.com → Join my exclusive privacy community

MY PRIVACY TUTORIALS → https://escapethetechnocracy.com/ (including consulting) → https://watchmanprivacy.com (Gabriel's personal site) → https://twitter.com/watchmanprivacy

SUPPORT INDEPENDENT GONZO TECHNO-ADVENTURE JOURNALISM → No sponsors. No ads. Just truth. → https://watchmanprivacy.com/donate.html

Timeline

0:00 – Introduction 2:19 – Matt Smith's path to the present; meeting Doug Casey 10:18 – Visiting secret societies 14:17 – Why did you move to Uruguay 18:06 – Any dangers in Uruguay? 20:24 – Uruguay residency process 21:39 – What is it like having a ranch in Uruguay? 24:18 – How to acquire goods in Uruguay 28:37 – Montevideo and Buenos Aires 31:40 – Doug Casey's Take; how Matt prepares 39:46 – How to get a doctor outside of the medical system 41:49 – Phyle.co

A full introduction to the privacy cryptocurrency Monero, which is one of the greatest tools for financial privacy in human history. Gabriel Custodiet speaks to Seth for Privacy about the origins, features, and future of Monero. This is the definitive resource for beginners to Monero

Guest Links → https://sethforprivacy.com/ → https://twitter.com/sethforprivacy → https://optoutpod.com/ (Seth's podcast) → https://sethforprivacy.com/posts/comparing-private-spends (comparing transaction size)

Services and Resources Mentioned → Cake Wallet (Android/iOS) → https://monero.com/ → https://www.getmonero.org/downloads → https://stackwallet.com → https://localmonero.co/ → https://agoradesk.com/ → https://bisq.network/ → https://trocador.app/en/ → https://coincards.com/us/ → https://cakepay.com/ → https://anonshop.app/ → https://proxysto.re/en/index.html → https://www.getmonero.org/ → https://www.monerotalk.live/

MY PREMIUM NEWSLETTER → http://watchmanstorch.com → Join my exclusive privacy community

MY PRIVACY TUTORIALS → https://escapethetechnocracy.com/ (including consulting) → https://watchmanprivacy.com (Gabriel's personal site) → https://twitter.com/watchmanprivacy

SUPPORT INDEPENDENT GONZO TECHNO-ADVENTURE JOURNALISM → No sponsors. No ads. Just truth. → https://watchmanprivacy.com/donate.html

Timeline

0:00 – Introduction 2:43 – The origins of Monero 6:26 – Where has Monero ranked in market cap and popularity? 8:24 – Monero has huge amounts of developers 9:57 – Monero basic privacy features 16:10 – Problem with Monero's large transaction size? 19:18 – Monero's money supply: can we audit? 23:45 – How confident that transactions with Monero will never be unraveled? 26:10 – Other differences from Bitcoin 28:15 – Reasons Monero does not allow ASIC mining 30:53 – Two-minute block settling and consequences 32:08 – Full node essential for Monero? 34:02 – Monero hardforking a danger? 38:45 – What does Seth see in Bitcoin? 43:28 – Monero wallets for beginners 45:12 – Monero hardware wallets 46:46 – Monero delistings from exchanges and discrimination 49:12 – How to buy non-KYC Monero 56:24 – What can we spend Monero on? 1:01:45 – Monero resources 1:03:22 – How does Seth handle online hate?

#Monero #FinancialPrivacy #SethforPrivacy #Bitcoin #NonKYC