The Bitcoin Nova Podcast

A year and a half after our first conversation, Jeff Booth joins me again.

His advice was to spend more time in the world I wanted to live in. Since then, I’ve been doing exactly that: meeting Bitcoiners, building community, working with Conduit, and finding more ways to bring Bitcoin into my everyday life. The relationships, opportunities, and energy that have come from it have changed my life, and I’m excited to share where this journey is taking me.

In this conversation, we explore why Jeff believes the first free market that ever existed is already being built—and how our choices help strengthen it. We talk about pricing goods in Bitcoin, earning and spending sats, and the real connections that form when people come together to build something they believe in.

We also get into Nostr’s role in a new internet, privacy and community through Fedi and Fedimint, and how open-source AI could put more powerful tools into people’s hands. I share why I’m spending more time around the builders and why I want to help more people understand what’s taking shape.

CHAPTERS

Jeff and Staci discuss the future of the Bitcoin Nova, breaking down the vision behind this new project.

In this conversation, Jeff and Staci explore the core principles driving their latest work. We examine how Bitcoin Nova fits into the broader landscape of digital assets and community building, offering a clear perspective on where the ecosystem is heading.

Whether you are following the development of the Bitcoin Nova or interested in the philosophy behind these projects, this discussion highlights the authenticity and intent required to build something that lasts. We look at the framework they are operating within and why it matters for the future of the circular economy.

Subscribe to The Bitcoin Nova for more deep dives into the space, and let us know what you think about this new project in the comments.

00:00 Jeff Returns: A Year and a Half Later

01:18 “We Are Bitcoin”: The World Emerges From Our Choices

06:46 The First Free Market & Pricing in Bitcoin

10:39 My Bitcoin Journey & Conduit Market

17:31 Finding Energy Through Community & Real Relationships

23:18 Nostr & the Building Blocks of a New Internet

29:27 Finding the Builders & Growing Our Communities

32:52 My Next Chapter: Spending More Time on Nostr

37:23 Fedi, Privacy & Financial Control

42:23 Open-Source AI & Technology That Serves Us

CHECK OUT

Fedimint: https://fedimint.org/](https://fedimint.org/

Conduit Market: https://conduit.market/](https://conduit.market/

Open Markets Foundation: https://openmarkets.pub/](https://openmarkets.pub/

Subscribe to follow my journey and hear from the people building the world we want to live in.

The Hive is back! 🐝 We’re catching up after the Midwest Bitcoin Summit in Columbus, Ohio, talking Bitcoin community, open commerce, and what happens when your internet friends finally become friends in real life.

Join Staci, Big G, Brett Hansen (Bcuz), and Killer ₿, plus a surprise appearance from Jeeves, for another episode of Hive Minded. From KB meeting the crew for the first time to opening Based Trading Cards and showing off FUGUM hats, there’s plenty to catch up on.

We also get into the real-world side of Bitcoin adoption: buying from independent merchants, paying sellers directly, and making Bitcoin useful at conferences, local meetups, and markets. Staci shares her experience running the Conduit booth and helping people see what open commerce can look like in practice.

In this episode:

⚡ Conduit, direct Bitcoin payments, and shopping at live events

🎨 Bitcoin artists, authors, makers, and supporting their work

📚 Selling books directly and the trade-offs of using big platforms

🪙 Pricing products in sats versus dollars

🤝 Online friendships, showing up for each other, and finding your people

🎤 Summit panels, Bitcoin Black Sheep, and being yourself

😂 After-party stories, inside jokes, and our traditional music-video reaction that goes completely off the rails

Stick around for the laughs. If you’ve seen Hive Minded before, you know the conversation can go just about anywhere.

CHAPTERS

00:00 The Hive is back

01:42 Killer ₿ meets the crew in person

04:53 FUGUM hats and summit finds

07:59 Based Trading Cards and opening packs

13:29 Bitcoin Black Sheep and being yourself

23:04 Bitcoin artists, books, and creators

24:15 Conduit and Bitcoin commerce in action

34:22 Selling books directly: convenience and trade-offs

37:41 Pricing in sats versus dollars

43:07 Friendship, community, and showing up

58:13 Jeeves joins the Hive

1:05:37 Summit after-party stories

1:18:00 The music-video reaction begins

1:58:07 What Hive Minded is all about

2:08:54 Wrapping up and the next reunion

💬 Have you met your Bitcoin friends in person yet? Tell us about it in the comments.

Subscribe to The Bitcoin Nova for more Bitcoin conversations, everyday adoption stories, and future Hive Minded hangouts.

Disclosure: Staci is Head of Community at Conduit.

Luke and Brooke join me on The Bitcoin Nova to share how their Bitcoin Treasure Hunt gets people out into their communities, visiting local businesses, playing games, and using Bitcoin as money.

Through hands-on experiences, they help participants understand inflation, purchasing power, ownership, and the freedom to use their own money. What starts as a fun adventure becomes a way to build confidence, support local businesses, and connect people.

We talk about how they’ve brought more than 25 businesses into their local Bitcoin economy, why learning by doing can make things click, and how other communities can take their open-source blueprint and start treasure hunts of their own. We also connect this with my work at Conduit and our shared goal of helping people participate in everyday Bitcoin commerce.

📍 BITCOIN TREASURE HUNT IN COLUMBUS, OHIO

Luke and Brooke are bringing the treasure hunts to the Midwest Bitcoin Summit! One hunt will be inside the summit, with two more around Columbus during the summit. Explore, connect, and experience Bitcoin in action!

Participate and learn how a treasure hunt is organized and run, and take that experience back to their own hometowns to host their own!

It’s a fun way to introduce people to Bitcoin, support local businesses, and build community.

🗺️⚡ JOIN THE BITCOIN TREASURE HUNT!

[https://chaffeecountybitcoinbounty.my.canva.site/](https://chaffeecountybitcoinbounty.my.canva.site/)

Midwest Bitcoin Summit:

https://www.midwestbtc.com/

Follow Luke and Brooke on X for treasure hunt updates:

https://x.com/ABCundrstandBTC

Would you join a Bitcoin treasure hunt—or help bring one to your community? Let us know in the comments! 👇

CHAPTERS

00:04 Introduction to Bitcoin Treasure Hunt

02:20 The Journey into Bitcoin

04:44 Conceptualizing the Treasure Hunt

07:30 Community Engagement and Local Impact

10:40 The Structure of the Treasure Hunt

13:39 Experiencing the Treasure Hunt

16:15 The Emotional Connection to Money

18:59 Games and Learning about Money

21:37 The Inflation Game Explained

24:34 The Deflation Game and Its Lessons

35:21 The Chocolate Game: Understanding Value and Inflation

37:49 Quality Over Quantity: The Impact of Bitcoin on Market Standards

40:37 Hope and Change: The Transformative Power of Bitcoin

41:52 The Permissionless Game: Accessing Your Own Money

46:04 Creating a Bitcoin Community: The Treasure Hunt Experience

50:57 Building a Better World: The Role of Local Businesses

56:42 Grassroots Movements: Spreading Bitcoin Adoption

01:02:17 Empowerment Through Action: The Future of Bitcoin

Subscribe to The Bitcoin Nova for more conversations with the people building, creating, and using Bitcoin. 🧡

What keeps bringing me back to Nostr is the people. The conversations, the support, and the feeling that something you created actually meant something to someone.

In this episode of The Bitcoin Nova, I’m joined by Philip Charter, also known as Totally Human Writer, to talk about why we’re choosing to spend more time in communities where that connection matters.

We get into decentralized social media, zapping sats, and marketplaces like Conduit, where creators and customers can connect and exchange value directly. We also talk about what happens when platforms reward outrage and attention, while the people doing the creating struggle to be seen.

One of my favorite parts of this conversation was Philip explaining why five people zapping his writing can mean more to him than 10,000 views. Someone took the time to read his work, appreciate it, and give something back. That means something.

Philip also shares the story behind 21 Futures, the fiction series exploring Bitcoin, freedom, and the worlds we could build, including Tales from the Timechain and Financial Fallout.

We talk about:

⚡ Why real engagement can matter more than views and follower counts

🟣 Nostr, decentralized markets, and supporting creators directly

🤝 Why a useful app needs an engaged community

✍️ Human creativity, storytelling, and authenticity in a world of AI

📚 Bitcoin fiction and imagining different futures

🌱 How online connections become friendships, meetups, and communities in real life

🎙️ Getting past imposter syndrome and finding your own way to contribute

I loved this conversation because it brought us back to why we’re doing any of this: connecting with people, recognizing what they bring to the world, and helping each other build something we care about.

Have you started spending more time on Nostr? What makes it feel different to you? Let us know in the comments, and go show Philip some love! 💜⚡️

Links:

* [Philip Charter — Totally Human Writer: writing and services](https://totallyhumanwriter.com/)

* [21 Futures — Tales from the Timechain, Financial Fallout, and stories](https://21futures.com/)

* [Buy Tales from the Timechain through Konsensus](https://konsensus.net/book/21-futures-tales-from)

* [Konsensus Network — browse the bookshop](https://konsensus.net/books/)

* [Publish with Konsensus — publishing and editing support](https://konsensus.net/publish/)

* [Conduit — marketplace and commerce on Nostr](https://conduit.market/)

* [Nostr — learn about the network and find apps](https://nostr.org/)

* [Stacker News — discussions and sharing value in sats](https://stacker.news/)

* [Fountain — podcasts and direct listener support](https://fountain.fm/)

* [Human Rights Foundation — financial freedom work discussed in the episode](https://hrf.org/program/financial-freedom/)

Chapters:

0:04 Introduction to Philip Charter and His Work

02:31 Exploring the Twenty One Futures Series

05:02 The Intersection of Sci-Fi and Bitcoin

07:30 The Impact of Media and Polarization

10:16 Bitcoin as a Catalyst for Change

13:15 The Importance of Authentic Storytelling

16:01 The Role of AI in Creative Work

18:40 Building Community in Decentralized Spaces

21:17 The Value of Human Connection in Business

23:50 Overcoming Social Anxiety in Public Speaking

26:37 Embracing Authenticity in Leadership

31:19 The Celebrity Paradox: Fame and Isolation

34:08 The Unique Community of Bitcoin

36:16 From Online to Real-Life Connections

39:30 The Energy of Bitcoin Conferences

43:26 Building a Grassroots Movement

46:45 The Value of Authentic Connections

50:19 Empathy and Community in Bitcoin

What does your reaction to Bitcoin actually reveal about you.. not whether you love it or hate it, but why?

In this episode of The Bitcoin Nova, I sit down with my friend Brett Hansen, author of The Belief Machine. This isn’t the typical Bitcoin book. It doesn’t explain what Bitcoin is, how the technology works, or why we need it. Instead, it uses Bitcoin to help us understand ourselves.

We explore how identity, belonging, status, past experiences, and inherited beliefs shape what feels true and why challenging those beliefs can feel like a personal attack before our minds even have time to process what happened.

Brett explains why facts alone rarely change someone’s mind, how our bodies react before our thoughts catch up, and why Bitcoiners are not immune to the very same belief machine. We also discuss:

⚡ Why intelligent people can be deeply resistant to Bitcoin

⚡ The difference between understanding Bitcoin and performing Bitcoin

⚡ How beliefs become part of our identities

⚡ Why anger gives discomfort somewhere to go

⚡ Conviction without consensus

⚡ Bitcoin volatility, patience, and emotional freedom

⚡ Property rights, self-custody, and truly owning something

⚡ How understanding our own reactions can create more empathy

⚡ Why “there is no red pill” only the practice of noticing the machine at work

Knowing that your belief machine exists doesn’t stop it from running. The best we may be able to do is observe it, question the stories it creates, and become more honest about why we believe what we believe.

This conversation is vulnerable, thoughtful, funny, and incredibly introspective. Whether you are a Bitcoiner or not, The Belief Machine will challenge you to examine the gap between who you believe you are and what your reactions reveal.

0:00 What Does Your Bitcoin Reaction Reveal?

2:30 Why Intelligent People Resist Bitcoin

5:38 Learning to Observe Yourself

7:16 We Inherit Beliefs Like Language

8:20 Understanding vs. Performing Bitcoin

11:04 The Knife Points Both Ways

15:30 Bitcoin Challenges Identity, Not Logic

18:49 How The Belief Machine Was Written

21:21 A Book Designed to Make You Uncomfortable

27:26 Are Beliefs Maps or Territories?

29:14 When Load-Bearing Beliefs Collapse

35:55 Why Evidence Doesn’t Change Minds

39:22 Bitcoiners Have a Belief Machine Too

41:12 When Bitcoin’s Price Controls Your Emotions

43:51 Building Conviction Beyond the Market

46:31 Bitcoin, Property Rights and Ownership

48:36 Who Determines Value in an Exchange?

50:55 The Ship of Theseus Thought Experiment

52:47 The Hidden Meaning in the Book Cover

56:59 Conviction Without Consensus

1:00:31 How the Brain Compresses Reality

1:01:49 There Is No Red Pill

1:04:43 Awareness Is the Practice

1:08:02 Bringing The Belief Machine to Conduit

1:09:17 Why Self-Promotion Feels Cringey

1:12:35 Why Creators Need Community Support

1:17:34 Midwest Bitcoin Summit and Closing

1:19:10 Where to Find Brett and the Book

📖 Explore The Belief Machine:

https://thebeliefmachine.org/

𝕏 Follow Brett Hansen:

https://x.com/Bcuz21

🛍️ Explore Conduit Market and support Bitcoin merchants:

https://shop.conduit.market/products

⚡ Join us at the Midwest Bitcoin Summit in Columbus, Ohio, September 23–24, 2026:

https://midwestbtc.com/

If this conversation gets your own belief machine running, share your thoughts in the comments. What has Bitcoin revealed to you about yourself?

What happens when a female medical device leader and a Bitcoin convert meet at exactly the right moment? You get a conversation about chronic pain, spinal cord stimulation, and the unexpected way a finance class led to Bitcoin ownership, deeper conviction, and a new sense of freedom.

Staci sits down with Bria Lane Papia, a veteran in medical device sales at Saluda Medical, who explains how modern spinal cord stimulation is changing the way doctors treat patients with chronic pain. Bria breaks down how the technology works, why precision dosing matters, and how minimally invasive treatment can help some patients reduce opioids, regain mobility, and reclaim quality of life.

You'll discover:

How spinal cord stimulation evolved from a 1967-era concept into a highly refined, patient-specific therapy

Why Saluda Medical focuses on precise electrical dosing, trial periods, and long-term outcomes

What patients actually experience during implantation, charging, and recovery

Why insurance approval and physician selection can shape access to care

How yoga, mobility, and small daily movement habits connect to long-term spine health

Then the conversation shifts into something bigger. Bria shares how COVID, job uncertainty, and fear of financial instability pushed her back to school, where an executive master's program introduced her to Bitcoin and the blockchain. That moment changed everything - not just her view of money, but her sense of what freedom, planning, and generational wealth could look like.

If you care about health innovation, women speaking up in male-dominated spaces, or the real-world reasons people start questioning the traditional system, this episode delivers. It's part medical education, part personal transformation, and part Bitcoin awakening - with a story that connects the body, the balance sheet, and the future.

Perfect for listeners who want practical insight, a powerful origin story, and a reminder that the right information can show up exactly when you need it most.

00:04 Empowering Women in Podcasting

01:54 Bria's Journey in Medical Device Sales

05:20 Innovations in Pain Management

08:59 The Role of Physical and Mental Health

12:20 Understanding Spinal Cord Stimulation

16:27 The Future of Pain Management Technology

19:48 Navigating Insurance and Treatment Options

22:34 The Implantation Process Explained

25:44 The Importance of Patient Empowerment

29:56 Yoga and Overall Health

34:16 Cultural Practices and Mobility

35:37 The Importance of Movement and Long-Term Thinking

38:50 Navigating Life's Challenges: A Personal Journey

44:27 The Awakening: Discovering Bitcoin During Crisis

49:29 Bitcoin Education: Insights from an Advanced Finance Class

56:24 Finding Freedom Through Bitcoin: A New Perspective

Follow Bria:

https://x.com/BriaLanePapia

How can Bitcoin strengthen a marriage, shape intentional parenting, and help families teach kids about money? Staci sits down with Anthony and Danielle Luna, hosts of the Bitcoin podcast To the Moon with the Lunas, to explore Bitcoin family values, financial literacy for kids, and building a meaningful life together.

Anthony first fell down the Bitcoin rabbit hole while Danielle was focused on raising their three young children. Instead of keeping Bitcoin as his thing, they started a podcast so she could learn from other Bitcoiners at her own pace. The result was a shared mission that helped them connect, create, and grow together.

They discuss marriage communication and staying on the same team, chores versus allowances, saving sats for children, gratitude, work ethic, homeschooling, entrepreneurship, college versus real world experience, digital distractions, and raising critical thinkers. Anthony also shares how he began working at sixteen and gave his paychecks to his mother so their family could leave a difficult living situation.

At its heart, this episode is about more than money. It is about Bitcoin, marriage, parenting, purpose, and creating a family culture rooted in responsibility, curiosity, and time together.

CHAPTERS

00:00 Welcome to The Bitcoin Nova

00:34 Why they started a Bitcoin podcast

03:00 Learning Bitcoin as a couple

04:44 Building something with your spouse

08:35 Marriage, communication, and staying on the same team

15:12 Chores, allowances, and family responsibility

17:06 Teaching kids about sats and saving

18:23 Raising critical thinkers in a digital world

20:15 College degrees versus real world experience

24:29 Start before you feel ready

29:51 Purpose, work, and personal growth

35:32 Podcasting while raising three young kids

40:09 Two very different childhoods

46:48 Spoiled versus entitled

50:46 Anthony's childhood, sacrifice, and work ethic

58:41 Bitcoin dating and the future of relationships

1:01:40 Returning to simpler family life

1:03:59 Are parents overscheduling kids?

1:06:56 Small trips and lasting family memories

1:08:06 Modeling a healthy marriage

1:09:59 Final thoughts

CONNECT WITH ANTHONY AND DANIELLE

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@tothemoonwithlunas

Anthony on X: https://x.com/Anthony_Luna5

Danielle on X: https://x.com/MrsDanielleLuna

Podcast: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2561031

Subscribe to The Bitcoin Nova Podcast for honest conversations about Bitcoin, family, freedom, personal growth, and the ideas shaping our future.

What are you teaching your children about money, work, and responsibility? Share your thoughts in the comments.

Check out Anthony & Danielle's Podcast:

https://www.youtube.com/@tothemoonwithlunas

In this episode of The Bitcoin Nova Podcast, Staci sits down with Tatum Turn Up for a fun, wide-ranging conversation that starts with a Vegas birthday shoutout and quickly opens into the bigger story behind Bitcoin community, privacy, music, and mining.

Tatum shares how Bitcoin conferences can feel like a family reunion, why music and DJing are such a meaningful part of his life

The conversation also goes deep on digital security, online privacy, and the ways Bitcoin has changed how he thinks about his identity and public presence.

They get into mining, including the realities of working in the industry, the intensity of deployments, noisy facilities, power management, and what it’s like to move from support and operations into sales.

Along the way, Staci and Tatum reflect on the value of genuine Bitcoin friendships, the pressure of public-facing work, and why honesty, humor, and community matter so much in this space.

If you want a behind-the-scenes look at Bitcoin culture, mining life, and the people who make the ecosystem feel like home, this one is for you.

Chapters:

00:00 DJing the Birthday Party

01:23 Bitcoin Conferences Feel Like Family Reunions

04:03 Mutual Friend Who Connected Us

07:52 How Music Becomes a Personal Diary

13:20 Digital Identity, Surveillance & Online Security

18:14 Privacy vs. Being a Public Bitcoiner

20:18 The Online Persona vs. the Real Person

21:36 Why Between Two ASICs Was Never a Podcast

26:43 Bitcoin Friends, Community & Showing Up for People

28:49 Monetization, Views & the Reality of Content Creation

38:58 Falling in Love With Bitcoin Mining

41:50 Speaking About Mining at the Bitcoin Conference

44:28 How Tatum Ended Up at Compass Mining

53:36 What It's Really Like Inside a Bitcoin Mining Farm

1:02:00 Mining Safety & Respecting Electricity

1:04:40 Bitcoin Mining, Energy & Power Markets

1:05:42 Compass Mining & the Denver Operation

Connect with Tatum Turn Up ⚡️

Tatum Turn Up on X: https://x.com/tatumturnup

Tatum on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TatumTurnUp

Compass Mining on X: https://x.com/Compass_Mining

Compass Mining: https://compassmining.io/

Btc and Nostr are colliding with e-commerce, and Eric FJ says the real opportunity is not another closed platform - it is an open marketplace where users can actually own their identity, move freely, and get paid in Bitcoin.

Staci sits down with Eric FJ, the builder behind Conduit, to unpack why open-source systems, interoperable marketplaces, and Nostr-native commerce may be the missing piece for making Bitcoin useful at everyday scale. If you have ever felt trapped by social platforms, payment processors, or app ecosystems that control your reach, this conversation will hit home.

This conversation is especially meaningful to me because I recorded it shortly after accepting a role with Conduit, and we officially announced that I’m joining the team as Head of Community just before this episode was released. I’m incredibly honored and excited to work alongside a company building freedom tech on open networks, powered by freedom money. Conduit represents so much of what drew me to Bitcoin in the first place: open systems, individual choice, resilience, and creating real tools that people can actually use.

You’ll discover:

Why Eric came to Nostr after reading Lynn Alden’s Broken Money and why the protocol immediately felt different from traditional social media

How open source changes the incentive structure for apps, merchants, and users

Why “switching costs” are the hidden weapon of closed platforms - and how Nostr flips that dynamic

What Conduit is building as an interoperable marketplace layer for NIP-99 commerce

How AI now lets non-coders inspect open-source code and verify what an app is really doing

Why Bitcoin needs real settlement demand, not just paper narratives and treasury-company hype

How merchants can start stacking sats by selling real goods through Bitcoin-native rails

Eric also breaks down the long-term Bitcoin thesis in plain language, from base-layer settlement and mining incentives to why open systems may be the only way to build something resilient enough to survive attacks, deplatforming, or centralized failure. Staci brings the perspective of a Bitcoin creator, merchant, and community builder, connecting the dots between social control, attention economy addiction, and the freedom that decentralized tools can restore.

Eric FJ is a builder in the Nostr ecosystem and the creator behind Conduit, a Bitcoin and Nostr marketplace project focused on open, interoperable commerce. He also hosts The Open Markets Podcast, where he explores the future of Bitcoin-native marketplaces and open standards.

Perfect for Bitcoiners, Nostr users, merchants, builders, and anyone who wants to understand where decentralized commerce is actually heading. If you care about sovereignty, open protocols, and turning Bitcoin from a holding asset into a living economy, this episode is for you.

Chapter List:

0:00 The Trap of Traditional Social Media

1:11 Discovering the Rabbit Hole

2:29 Understanding Incentives in Nostr

5:37 Are All Algorithms Inherently Bad?

7:38 The Truth About Attention Mining

10:03 Verifying Code with AI Tools

17:59 Building Conduit: A Decentralized Marketplace

26:41 The Future of Bitcoin Settlement

Follow Eric on Primal: https://primal.net/EricFJ

Follow Conduit.Market Primal https://primal.net/p/nprofile1qqsfmys8030rttmk77cumprnsqqt0whmg0fqkz3xcx8798ag8rf8z3sad6jak

Check out Eric’s Podcast: Open Markets Podcast: https://fountain.fm/show/8aujy1pUxhDKcm0fHcsM

Conduit Market: https://shop.conduit.market/

Gamma Market: https://github.com/GammaMarkets

Check out Open Markets Foundation: https://openmarkets.pub/

Shoutout to Plebeian Market & Shopstr! ⚡️

Building interoperable commerce together on the open web. 🤝💜

Plebeian: https://plebeian.market/

Shopstr: https://shopstr.market/

Coldcard incident explained with Swan engineer Steve Keider

Staci is joined by Steve Keider, an engineer at Swan, to break down the ongoing Coldcard incident, what appears to have gone wrong, and why the recommended response is broader than just affected devices. They also dig into how AI-assisted red teaming is changing both

Bitcoiners just got a brutal reminder that self-custody is only as safe as the code behind it. Swan engineer Steve Keider breaks down the Coldcard incident, how a seed-generation flaw opened the door to compromise, and why this is pushing the entire Bitcoin security stack into a new era of AI-assisted red teaming.

Staci and Steve trace what happened in the first hours after the issue surfaced, why the recommendation is still to move funds off affected Coldcard-generated seeds, and how a vulnerability in wallet firmware can create risk long after a device is updated. They also dig into the scale of the blast radius, the likely timeline of the attack, and why the on-chain behavior suggests a small, highly motivated actor rather than a nation-state operation.

You'll hear how open-weight AI models are changing defensive security work, why frontier models with safety guardrails can be a bad fit for legitimate audits, and how engineers now need to think like attackers to protect Bitcoin infrastructure. Steve explains the concept of adversarial reviews, why bug bounties matter more than ever, and what this incident reveals about the tension between privacy, usability, and extreme self-custody rituals.

The conversation also widens into the bigger picture: what open source and source-available code mean for security, why multi-sig and multi-manufacturer setups are becoming more attractive, and how collective Bitcoiners using AI may become the best line of defense against future exploits. If you care about Bitcoin security, hardware wallets, AI safety, or the real-world consequences of one hidden bug, this episode is essential listening.

Steve Keider is an engineer at Swan, where he works on Bitcoin security and technical analysis. He helped investigate the Coldcard vulnerability and has been actively involved in the community response and red-teaming effort.

Perfect for Bitcoiners, self-custody users, engineers, and anyone trying to understand how AI is reshaping both attacks and defenses in crypto.

Steve Keider:

https://x.com/SteveKeider

Swan Bitcoin:

https://www.swanbitcoin.com/

Chapter List:

(00:00) Coldcard Incident

(00:37) The First Night

(01:06) AI Finds the Flaw

(01:45) Swan Responds

(03:28) Old Seeds at Risk

(05:00) Open Models for Audits

(07:12) Limits of Restricted AI

(08:30) Adversarial Review

(09:58) Media & Narrative Risk

(11:48) Early Theft Totals

(13:07) Auditing Other Wallets

(15:13) Open Source vs. Source Available

(16:59) Sponsorships & Trust

(18:57) Auditing Cryptography

(20:24) Better Self-Custody

(22:23) Paranoia & Multisig

(24:22) AI Speeds Up Exploits

(26:29) A Mass Wallet Attack?

(29:11) Was Frontier AI Needed?

(30:38) Tracking the Attacker

(32:24) Why the Coins Can’t Move

(34:37) The Attacker’s Paper Trail

(35:38) Small Team or Nation-State?

(37:14) Next-Gen AI Audits

(40:38) Bug Bounties Matter

(43:09) AI Tracks the Attacker

(45:14) Defensive vs. Offensive AI

(47:14) Everyone Felt Safe

(49:37) AI Guardrails & Defenders

(52:00) AI Custody & Kill Switches

(54:03) Think Like an Attacker

(54:53) Closing Thoughts