Option Plus Podcast with Juraj Bednar

Swallowing the orange pill is only the beginning. What comes next has very little to do with the exchange rate or your wealth. What Bitcoin gives you is new outlook on life, through experience.

Suddenly, you notice hierarchies are not required for most relationships. A decentralized networks works – tick tock next block – without the need of central planner. And by the way, it’s the 6th largest reserve currency of the world.

How does this day to day experience with Bitcoin impact you and how you can participate in this revolution by letting it change your life?

How do you enter – not only financially, but fully – to the orange Bitcoin world?

Links:

• Cryptocurrencies – Hack your way to a better life – book

A look into cypherpunk’s history, goals, current status, and possible futures. Cypherpunks are individuals who build the technologies for the strategy of cryptoanarchy. This strategy involves using cryptographic tools to enhance personal liberty in everyday life, without waiting for systemic changes. I explain how cypherpunks have worked on cryptographic primitives to enable private communication, censorship resistance, anonymity, electronic cash, decentralized file sharing, permissionless social networks, and more.

I talk about the importance of anonymity in increasing personal freedom by detaching physical actions from identities that can be targeted. We celebrate the progress made in utilizing cypherpunk technologies and acknowledge the revolutionary impact of projects like Bitcoin. Bitcoin has become a significant reserve asset globally (number 6!).

I discuss the remaining challenges facing the cypherpunk movement, such as the need for truly private peer-to-peer markets, improved reputation mechanisms, better coordination, and a shift towards prioritizing anonymity over mere privacy. Additionally, building “pipes” between different cypherpunk technologies, like the old school unix pipe.

Links:

• Cypherpunk visions and trends 2023-2025 – Amazon, my e-shop

We are Bitcoiners. We HODL. But what then? Do well sell our Bitcoin? Hell no! This is a podcast about Bitcoin-backed finance and our options after the proverbial moon.

This podcast is a recording of a Twitter Space on the topic of Bitcoin finance. I explain my book and course How to harness the value of Bitcoin without having to sell it, Martin and Chairman explain Bitcoin-native lending protocol Firefish and Richard and Science Genial (who also organized this space, thanks!) explain 10101.

Links:

• How to harness the value of Bitcoin without having to sell it – course and ebook

A demo of Reticulum, Cashu and my project Nutband that combines them, in order to use a Cashu mint over Reticulum mesh network – in this case over long range radio, and without internet.

I recommend watching video this time, but audio explanation should be ok too.

Nutband project

Learn more about cypherpunk stuff, tech and Bitcoin in my books:

Cypherpunk visions and trends 2023-2025

Cryptocurrencies – Hack your way to a better life (also available in Spanish and Slovak).

In this episode, I want to show you where are we going – what is the alternative, or rather parallel system. Does it already exist, or is it a hallucination of dreamers? How do we enter it – do we wish it into existence or is there another pathway? How big is it?

It is a recording from the 10th Hackers Congress Paralelní Polis – Resistance. I hope you enjoy this quite positive episode. I believe we already have a working solution in case world collapses. We have an out!

In this episode, I introduce my short ebook titled “Cypherpunk Visions and Trends 2023 to 2025.”. A lot of people talk about cypherpunk history. But what is our future? What technologies matter? Does Bitcoin need technological upgrades and if yes, on which level? What about related technologies? Nostr as a bitcoin-friendly social network, open-source AI that knows the answer to who would build the roads without the state. How do we react to regulatory pressure and where do we go from here?

Links:

• Ebook Cypherpunk visions and trends 2023-2025

In this episode, I take listeners on a deep dive into the world of peer-to-peer over-the-counter trading, referencing the historical veksláks of former Czechoslovakia. Delving into the mounting regulatory pressures faced by cryptocurrency users, I shed light on politically sensitive questions popping up even in ordinary transactions. Instead of lobbying, I put forward a peer-to-peer approach, underscoring the significance of proxy merchants and the revival of veksláks to facilitate transactions sans personal information disclosure.

I underline that to genuinely uphold privacy and sovereignty – two core values of cryptocurrencies like Monero and a basic value of cypherpunks – users need to focus on private and secure acquisition methods, not just transactional security. Taking inspiration from the structure of pot dealers, who operate effectively even in highly regulated spaces, I offer insights into how the same peer-to-peer structure can be beneficial for the crypto community.

For those keen on establishing their trading groups, I recommend secure messaging platforms. The episode also touches on the unique opportunities arising from demand and supply imbalances in crypto groups. I delve into hedging techniques with futures and stablecoins, highlighting their respective risks and rewards.

Throughout the episode, I stress the essential role of crypto as a societal backup memory of good deeds of society, and the pivotal role veksláks play in guarding against overreaching regulations.

Finally, I introduce listeners to valuable resources like the Vexl app and some recommended reading. Don’t forget to check out my book, “Cryptocurrencies Hack Your Way to a Better Life” – use the discount code provided in the episode!

Links:

• How to find someone to buy cryptocurrencies from and how to create your own crypto trading group – a blog about starting your peer to peer trading group

There is a lot of talk about using technologies to increase our freedom. But how does this work? How does some encryption software or anonymous cryptocurrency actually increase my freedom.

In this episode of the Option Plus podcast, I delve into the world of cypherpunk technologies and cryptoanarchy. Using insights from my book “Cryptocurrencies: Hack Your Way to a Better Life,” I demystify how these innovative technologies can bolster our personal freedoms.

Focusing on the immense possibilities, I touch upon the essence of freedom and the non-aggression principle, emphasizing personal responsibility. I discuss strategies to combat surveillance and dismantle the power that hierarchical structures have over us, which is essential for truly embracing freedom. Beyond social media debates and manifestos, I introduce the OODA loop, highlighting its role in conflict navigation and especially conflict prevention.

I explore the differences between reform movements and cryptoanarchy, which has the ability to obscure actions for swift conflict resolution. Cryptoanarchy offers the power of selective visibility, letting us decide what parts of ourselves we reveal.

Drawing from James Scott’s works, I underscore the freedom of not being bound by land or state. Venturing into the “cyphersphere,” I suggest the benefits of a nomadic persona in maintaining privacy.

Recognizing the intricate power dynamics, I urge listeners to focus on their positions and situations rather than the motives of the powerful. I champion peer-to-peer communities, like Bitcoin, and stress the importance of nurturing meaningful relationships within the cyphersphere and pursuing a purpose-driven life, away from politics and power plays.

Join me as we chart a path towards genuine freedom and empowerment.

Links:

• My books Cryptocurrencies – Hack your way to a better life and Cypherpunk visions and trends 2023-2025 talk about ways to use crypto/cypher technologies to increase your freedom. Get yours with a discount by using the code OPTIONPLUS. Start with Cryptocurrencies – it has very actionable content that you have probably not seen before anywhere else. Also available in Spanish and Slovak.

In this episode of the Option Plus podcast, I chat with Philipp from 10101 about trustless financial derivatives built on Bitcoin Lightning. Together, we tackle the misconceptions surrounding derivatives, highlighting their importance for risk-averse individuals – not speculation, but lowering risk. Philipp delves into the workings of 10101’s synthetic stablecoin and its distinction from others like Tether or DAI. He details how by shorting Bitcoin, one can stabilize their position in US dollars using inverse perpetual swaps, removing the need for a centralized issuer.

We go deeper into the technology, exploring the role of Discreet Log Contracts (DLCs) and their potential to revolutionize transactions. While reflecting on the challenges of managing a remote-first venture and navigating regulatory waters, I discuss the blurred lines in product classification and the implications of stablecoins on the dollar economy. Additionally, we delve into the platform’s unique features and potential, such as enabling access to the whole financial system from the Lightning economy, possible integration with merchant solutions such as BTCPayserver.

Links:

• A paper “Lightning Discreet Log Contract Channels” by me and René Pickhardt

In this episode of OptionPlus podcast, I will take you on a ride from tax havens through financial surveillance to crypto-utopistic new order.

As a kid, I have read books about off-shore tax havens as one would read an adventure novel. This world is almost gone thanks to FATCA and other means of financial surveillance. What changed? Are we are transitioning to a new order? Building on our experience with starting Paralelná Polis and running several businesses, I will explain the problems of surveillance state in financial sector and how we can sustain running a business and personal life mostly on cryptocurrencies and liberating technologies. What to do with volatility? What if crypto goes down? How do we escape the surveillance apparatus, reclaim our freedom, have fun and make money doing so? We have no time to waste in reforming the old linear governmental structures, let’s terraform a parallel exponential crypto universe together, today!

This is a recording of my 2019 talk on the topic.