648: I See Live People

I'm also rethinking my cold storage situation. I wrote a little rust program to roll a virtual dice using the rand crate, then used that running on my desktop which at that time had been online and doing a bunch of things in the background for a while to get some random dice rolls. Going to check out Bitkey and also maybe an ESP32 based seedsigner

Regarding fed reserve... All our govt does is jibber jabber unless it affects their own wealth or life or agenda. They don't care about the middle class and as long as there isn't a revolution, which they're confident there won't be, they can continue just jibber jabbering

A new TWiB is out. I guess I’m at the anger phase over this Coldcard situation. But there’s a lot of other important stuff in this episode too. Enjoy! 🍻

I've taken the plunge into nixos. I set up a full lightning stack on nix-bitcoin and a side effect of that was to install nixos on my main server at home. Chris, I blame you

Thank you for this episode!!!

A new TWiB is out! Key Topics: US National Debt Rising Fuel Prices Bitcoin Market Demand Fannie Mae Crypto-backed Mortgages David Sachs' Role as Crypto Czar Quantum Computing Threat to Bitcoin Bitcoin Core 31 Updates Lightning Network Adoption

This was a great episode. I know you were going to try changing the format. I'm excited to see what way that goes. Just wanted to give you some signal on the current format as I get lots of value in each episode. When you choose what to cut, please don't cut the state of the network section. I like hearing that each week

New TWiB is out! Wait until you get to the military spending section. 🤯

Episode 100 idea: Bitcoin Dad's guest appearance (if he is up for it of course)

+1 to expanding the updates section discussing the implications of changes Also +1 to what bitcoin.conf settings you run and why

Thank you for this episode

TWiB 99 is out! Key Topics: Weaponization of the Dollar Energy and Bitcoin The state of the Dollar Bitcoin and Global Conflicts Enjoy 🍻

Extra bonus sats for the baby Chris clip. Loved it

Fresh TWiB! I think this is an important one and explains why some big macro investors are hedging for a bad bear market.

Chris, can you do an section on your core config options and rationale behind them?

In regards to entropy and offline generation, I think people are missing the point. You want more entropy data points and to get such things, most operating systems get that from network, disk, memory, all kinds of different things that are changing. If you have a tails system that's completely air-gapped, you're not going to have all the network data points that you can pull from to add to the entropy pool. To get the most randomness, you want a very high entropy pool and the Linux entropy pool is taking all sorts of different inputs, so the more inputs you can add, the higher your entropy, the better your random number generator is. So when I generated more dice rolls, I was using my main online system with browser open as much entropy as you can possibly get based off of network activity, and all that. Yes, sure, if somebody pwned that computer already, they could see the numbers that were generated, but that still is much higher entropy than if you have an offline system that you just booted up and you're already generating numbers off of.

Community Mining pool update. The upstream project P2PoolV2 is still working on mining share payouts. The software is not yet a minimum product. At the same time, I have been working in a NixOS flake to run the project as a service module.

From DOGE to Bessent breaking out the checkbook and buying his own supply. I’ll explain why Treasury is buying back its own bonds, and why Bitcoin is ripping on the news. Plus some Bitcoin Core32 news, wallet security updates, and more. Fountain: https://fountain.fm/episode/mINbvSG83CfjIsCCRoAE YouTube: https://youtu.be/eF5VA-ogQMo

Huge update on JB mining pool coming soon. Chris, please contact me to discuss some details

Thanks for the boost question in the show notes, great addition to the notes

I am an IT sysadmin that also enjoys coding. LLMs have changed by job a little bit in that I don't have to spend as much time sorting through search results to find solutions to my problems. I'm able to find things sooner and have answers that are more catered to the problem that I am having. For coding, I enjoy doing it and I don't have a pressure to release anything faster than normal so agentic coding hasn't really been a huge part of it yet. If there was a pressure to ship mostly functional programs sooner, I might be using it more but at the moment it is just a fabulous search tool

Hey a new TWiB! Everyone’s crying about price suppression, so I had to give my take. What’s real, and what’s just cope. And all the other big news of the week. Enjoy! 🍻

A Fresh TWiB is OUT: https://fountain.fm/episode/UWgdr9MLVIo4Z1UHWy3S YouTube: https://youtu.be/icity09i_KM Things are moving quick this week, and I do my best to get you up to date with nothing but signal. Enjoy! 🍻

For those asking: Mining pool update I have a proof of concept set up. However it is based on the project called P2PoolV2. The payout system doesn't work yet so there's no point for me to share the link and for us to burn energy without a reward. The pool by default uses PPLNS shares but there are other payout methods being implemented. I will update again when there is a minimum viable product of P2PoolV2 available

New TWiB is out: A break from format to talk about managing a Bitcoin and Lightning note in 2026, and what’s changed. I’m joined by some very special guests too, enjoy! 🍻

Update on knots VS core nodes Knots takes up 50G more space. Not sure why...

Back from a road trip hiatus it’s a fully loaded episode. I think I make the meta case in this episode why NOT owning bitcoin is the biggest risk. Enjoy! 🍻

What website do you use to see nodes statistics?

Fresh TWiB: Why I think a rate cut was a lock and it’s not because of the jobs revision. That’s a smoke screen. Also, why this cut Isn’t a ripper for the price, yet.

Checking in from the backlog! Slowly getting caught back up

New episode 🍻 Mostly my take on the state of the Core vs Knots debate, and why it’s getting so heated right now.

Great episode, I'm a little behind. Keep them coming!!

Fresh TWiB is out, sorry it’s a bit late. I spent some extra time debunking the “Greater Fool” argument against Bitcoin, and then there is just a ton of Macro to break down. It’s a packed episode!

Chris, I think you probably would end up spending more BTC if there weren't taxes on it either since all these boosts are essentially a locked up cash flow for you. You'd be able to dip into the boost income and pay the monthly bills with less cost

Edit last boost I WOULD NOT have to do all these calculations

I would spend more sats if there wasn't a capital gains tax on every single transaction. My self hosted lightning would then just become my checking account and I would have to do all these calculations on how much fiat I need to save to pay the bills and put the rest into BTC cold storage. Could take my whole pay in BTC

A fresh TWiB is out: https://fountain.fm/episode/PqxZpjyPpvk6a5R8qRxl Now with video, which can be helpful for some of the clips! (And on YouTube: https://youtu.be/yzZBNvBxkSI) Key Topics: Inflation and purchasing power erosion Global energy crisis and market disconnects Central bank monetary policy and interest rates Fiscal dominance and government intervention in tech/AI AI's potential market disruption long-term Diverging retail vs. institutional sentiment in Bitcoin Bitcoin's value proposition as a hedge against debasement Efforts for US Bitcoin tax reform Zcash's critical bug and centralization risks Sam Bankman-Fried's pardon appeal Enjoy 🍻

HAPPY LAUNCH SUNDAY ON A TUESDAY

Couldn't make it yesterday since the storms in my area knocked out the regions electricity. Thankfully I have a portable generator to keep water and fridge running. Maybe it's time to invest in a battery system with an inverter and a bigger generator to keep more of the home running

Another question: as a member who also boosts, do you prefer having income from memberful or as boosts? Say for example I wanted to increase my financial contribution to JB. Is the membership or boosts more effective/easier for you guys to take in?

Show production question for ya: What part of Jb's operations takes the most of your time? What takes the most energy? What is the highest cost? As a member, I want to help offset that some, especially if it is something that I could either help support with time or by helping automate or maintaining some of the infrastructure, etc

Fidgets are a big part of my life, mostly because when you have a 3d printer, you can make your own. I've made probably around 20 infinity cubes for people and then 2 for myself, 1 for work and 1 for home. Look up fidget on printables.com or thingiverse

Please don't cancel the show!

Someone more knowledgable please correct me, but I'm pretty sure you only need to pump the average household septic system every 3 years. Unless there isn't a drain field, then things would be different

I think the four year cycle still exists because our political system in the United States is also a four year cycle to an extent. We get at least lately a different president every four years and it just goes back and forth between the two major parties and the four-year cycle is indicative of market during those policy changes that the different parties make and their ethos of how to run the country

Would the bip110 situation be somewhat solved by having additional node implementations?

Fresh TWiB is out! Don’t miss this one, enjoy! 🍻

Chris, I will buy you a bitaxe. Tell me which one and where to ship it. I'm almost done setting up a pool server so we can have a JB Pool

Catching up, regarding the poverty line, I spend over 23k on housing and I'm in the Midwest in a rural area. What gets me is that all these "experts" never update their formulas even though everything is constantly changing around them. Why do you think that is?

Split to angerz is failing on fountain

Upper-ed expectations!

+1 to NixOS node. I don't feel like I ever have to worry about doing updates on my server anymore

I'll take some Saylor sats... Yes Strategy selling is good, along with all the other whales because that means more and cheaper sats for me!!!

A fresh TWiB is OUT. King Dollar is back, the debasement trade is supposedly dead, and Bitcoin is left testing the one question that matters: what happens when Saylor stops buying? Foutain: https://fountain.fm/studio/40huHEEF6JMPGYctMuUI/nfKPiMVds7O… YouTube: https://youtu.be/bHcefWnhxzM Enjoy 🍻

Imho we have let the crypto skeptics get inside our heads. I think as a community we should lean into the fact that boost are powered by bitcoin. As a small business, I’m grateful to have support in a hard asset. It’s helped me fight inflation and keep my head above water. Bitcoin is an intelligence test, and I don’t need everyone in the world listening. I want a great audience, not the biggest audience possible. These are things we should lean into as a podcasting community trying to offer an alternative to mainstream crap. Go Podcasting!

Just wanted to say I really appreciate the work you guys do behind the scenes for the us Podcasters out here! Also +1 to the idea of putting an on-chain Address in the funding tag. I’ve definitely heard from a few listeners that would support via onchain, because that’s where they already have their stats.

If family computer counts, the first computer I remember using and learning was a dell dimension 5000. Keep in mind I'm only only 10ish years older than your oldest... Sorry to make you feel old lol The first computer that was actually mine was a custom built machine centered around an A10-7890K because I was too poor for a dedicated video card at the time. This was during high school so what money I did get from the job I had was saved up and I later bought a 1050ti.

For the dumb time machine thought experiment I would back to the era of early steam locomotives so 1880s to early 1920s. I would love to be on a train crew and armed with my current knowledge of how to run one already, I probably wouldn't need to learn too much in terms of being an engineer or even a fireman. Plus it was the old west which is one of my favorite historical eras. Yeehaw pardners

I don't like the government/companies having a bunch of the supply either but if we as the plebs start dictating who can custody BTC we are becoming the very people that BTC was designed to combat in the first place

Yeah we got a fresh TWiB here! Get yer fresh TWiB! I dug through hours and hours of the Bitcoin 2026 Conference so you don’t have to the signal from the noise is strong this week!

Curiosity question: what is the software stack of your Callisto node?

Fresh TWiB! Everyone seems convinced bitcoin is going into a bear market until October. Why? Do I agree? Tune in to find out.

No video for me. I prefer audio because it allows me to think critically about what is being said. Video requires more sensory input which takes note brain power. Plus I listen in during the commute the most anyway so video is not feasible anyway

Fresh TWiB! Packed with the macro news that impacts Bitcoin, and more!

Regarding that CTO that got hired in the first story. Sounds like someone had a bunch of Microsoft stock and wanted to pump the value up

The intro song for bootleg sums up my work life pretty good

The split to drew failed in my last boost

Congratulations Alex for figuring out why in the business datacenter we have a few separate SANs, compute hosts and NAS boxes instead of one. All because the department of redundancy department exists. In my homelab, I have found that added complexity can make more headaches down the road when one box gets updated and that breaks a thing or you have to shut everything down because your NAS with all the data needs an update or whatever the case may be

I love to think that when your son asks why the price is going up you get out a pipe and and say," now sit down son, let me tell you... ". I know you don't bit still

This Week in Bitcoin 120 is OUT! We pick up right where we left off after a historic couple of weeks. With some very good long-term signs for Bitcoin. Fountain: https://fountain.fm/episode/oUfv7KZfztfznV7Ia03C YouTube: https://youtu.be/gz7yq4oswi4

$1m per BTC by 2032? I doubt it. Hope not, so I can stack more

Fresh TWiB and it’s packed with research. Key Topics: AI pump and its distortion of Q1 U.S. GDP growth Unprecedented valuations and financial challenges of upcoming AI IPOs (SpaceX, OpenAI, Anthropic, XAI) Circular revenue models and rapid hardware obsolescence in the AI industry Impact of rising interest rates and inflation on debt-laden AI companies Geopolitical risks, energy shocks, and the depletion of strategic petroleum reserves Bitcoin's performance compared to AI stocks and the "digital gold" narrative SpaceX's significant Bitcoin treasury holdings MicroStrategy's evolving Bitcoin strategy The Clarity Act and its implications for stablecoins and surveillance Misinformation regarding U.S. seizure of Iranian "crypto" Discussion of a potential U.S. "strategic Bitcoin reserve" Bitcoin as an "information arbitrage" and its future price potential Bitcoin network fundamentals and long-term stacking strategy Enjoy!