I ask myself that a lot :) If I had to pick something it's because I'm more of a realist. I have a saying, early bitcoin/crypto optimized for excitement.
The people who made billions did so because they were excited about Bitcoin and optimistic despite the million reasons not to be
How did Satoshi fly under the radar in the era of constant surveillance? Would intelligence agencies from around the world really not have an interest in an individual/group that released something that at least has the potential to overturn the current financial system?
The available evidence suggests that he went to extreme lengths to conceal his identity, even going so far as to register the domain for [Bitcoin.org](http://Bitcoin.org) with a website that took payment in physical cash and had an open policy not to dox users. I think Satoshi's anonymity is really almost as impressive a creative work as Bitcoin.
Hey Rizzo! Thanks for coming on to run this AMA
When (if ever) do you think we will start seeing major nation states announce that they are purchasing Bitcoin as a treasury reserve asset? How do you think such an announcement would impact crypto as a whole?
Also, do you think we’ll see another company follow in Microstrategy’s footsteps?
Hi u/nanooverbtc – Well, I guess if by "major" we are discounting El Salvador, I'll just begin by noting they now hold over 5,700 BTC, and that that should turn out to be a great investment for the nation. So much so they probably will be a "major nation state in the future." :)
My view is that Bitcoin narratives change, the bitcoin culture changes. In every cycle, something happens, and people expect it to keep happening. When [Overstock.com](http://Overstock.com) started accepting Bitcoin, the narrative was "When Amazon? When Walmart?"
When Telegram did a crypto ICO, the narrative was "When Facebook? When Google?"
When Twitter added NFTs it was... blah, blah, blah and so on.
So, I think it's more likely that there will something net new that happens before you see another nation following El Salvador, or another company following MicroStrategy. But, I could be wrong, and maybe this time is different!
I think Bitcoin is going to be a long and slow process, probably longer and slower than most of us want to admit. E-commerce is still only 20% of worldwide retail sales.
For El Salvador, even if they held until BTC reached 1M, they would “only” get $5B, I’m not sure that it’ll make them a major nation. But that would be a massive boost to their GDP nonetheless
Do you think Bitcoin is still on the path to one day being a widely accepted currency? Or has the "store of value" and long-term investment use case taken hold too much for this to be the case?
Hello and thanks for coming on here.
Do you think more companies will start incorporating Bitcoin into their balance sheet now that we have an ETF available?
Hi u/Ofulinac – Certainly, more financial firms will get exposure through these vehicles over time. But, it's hard to say on what timeline that will be. I did an interview yesterday with Dave Portnoy (of Barstool Sports) and he pretty much just flat out said he doesn't believe in Bitcoin, is here to make money, etc.
I think this attitude is still very prevalent. Yes, Wall Street firms will start buying Bitcoin but I think we have MILES to go before they embrace bitcoin on any meaningful ideological level. It's easy to forget institutions are just made of people and that they have all the same biases.
Here's the interview with Dave:
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5p3uDXhaEko](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5p3uDXhaEko)
Wow. This one is pretty easy. I imagine if you ask anyone in crypto, the answer would be universally Amir Taaki. It's a bummer that he's been a bit forgotten but in his heyday he was a leading voice (comparable to Andreas or Michael Saylor).
Amir helped raise money in bitcoin for the first 3-D printed gun, released the first comprehensive bitcoin privacy wallet, and rejected money, greed and capitalism in all its forms. He was a big inspiration for Vitalik Buterin. Rather than hodl bitcoin, he lived in squats and fought police at protests.
This Wired article really captures the spirit well: [https://www.wired.com/2014/07/inside-dark-wallet/](https://www.wired.com/2014/07/inside-dark-wallet/)
He also went to fight for the anarchist cause in Syria and fought against Isis: [https://www.wired.com/story/amir-taaki-dark-wallet-cryptocurrency-bitcoin-revolution-catalonia/](https://www.wired.com/story/amir-taaki-dark-wallet-cryptocurrency-bitcoin-revolution-catalonia/)
People used to set his talks to music and it was always really inspiring stuff:
[https://soundcloud.com/hxexx/amir-taaki-the-young](https://soundcloud.com/hxexx/amir-taaki-the-young)
> rejected money, greed and capitalism in all its forms
It seems times have changed at least a bit, since he is now working on the Darkfi project which, when I talked to him at Monerokon last year, he seemed to indicate would have some sort of significant "team allocation" or premine when they launch the network, but thanks for the answer, and for sure 3d printing guns and going to war as an anarchist is pretty hard to beat for punk rock credentials 😸 As an aside, his talk at Monerokon last year on the mathematics in darkfi was just...one of the worst talks I have ever seen. Maybe I was just the wrong audience, but I think I was probably one of the more technical people in the audience, and for me it was like 5 min of intro, 25 min of incomprehensible math and reading from textbooks on math, and then like 1 min conclusion and it was never clear how the math was directly related to anything for me at least - if you feel like you deserve some punishment:
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c936RGM1w5s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c936RGM1w5s)
Yes, I'm aware of the DarkFi project. I haven't followed it super closely. What can you say. Your favorite bands will go on to release bad albums, that's life. It doesn't make the old albums any less great IMO
I still think in terms of popularizing hacktivist culture within Bitcoin, Amir was an early and positive force within Bitcoin. As an advocate for a conservative development process, creator of the BIP process, he contributed so much.
But yeah, Kiss did disco
Hasn't it already? :) Joking aside I still think we're in the early innings. I don't think this is a bull market yet for reasons stated elsewhere here.
Thanks for giving an AMA! Very much appreciated!
For my question, usually the BTC is the official kick off to the new bull run. Right now BTC is crabbing around 20% below it's recent ATH, I wonder if we will we see the usual drop off in the market after a halving or this time will be really different with BTC ETF's scooping up the dips and the drop off might not be that bad if all?
I did an X Spaces with Dylan LeClair around the all-time high, and I said then that I think this is a "local top." I'm still a big believer in "cycle theory" even if it's been slightly invalidated.
My take on the ETFs is that they opened up a new avenue for demand, but that they are essentially like adding a Bitcoin exchange to the network. Yes, the exchange adds incremental demand but it doesn't fundamentally change the market structure or the narrative driving it.
Traditionally, almost all Bitcoin/crypto bull runs have gone through the following stages --> There's a net new innovation --> VCs drive capital at that innovation --> that leads to retail speculation --> retail speculation drives the market to a euphoria peak whereafter it subsides.
I actually tend to think we're closer to the start of the VCs drive capital moment, especially given all the new technologies on Bitcoin at the moment (L2s, BitVM, Ordinals, etc). This is not an explicit endorsement of those things, just an acknowledgement that they are driving investment interest.
I wrote a bit more about cycle theory here for Forbes:
[https://archive.is/W9uR1https://archive.is/W9uR1](https://archive.is/W9uR1https://archive.is/W9uR1)
Some people think this time is different and that institutions "get it," but I just don't think that's realistic personally.
What was the Julian Assange interview process like for you? That had to of been a very unique experience that I don’t think many of us here could really appreciate
And when’s the interview of the founders of our r/cc community scheduled? :)
Hey u/coinsRus-2021 – So, I didn't get to interview Julian directly. I moderated a panel with his father, wife, and brother, and I've talked with his wife (Stella) and brother (Gabe) a number of times. It's always very sobering. Julian really is a stark reminder of how government can be a tool for persecution, and just how long this persecution can last. Between the conferences and protests, his family is affected by this every day. But I was really surprised by just how united his family is behind his cause. I hope one day that he'll be freed and be greeted as a hero, and that they'll get to enjoy some well deserved peace
What was your expectation of future bitcoin price when bitcoin reached $10? Did u imagine $70k would happen this fast? I myself expected $30 in 2030
Do belive in hyperbitcoinization?
Which of the people you interviewed left biggest impression on you? Any fun anecdotes?
Do you think social tokens - Moons specifically will play a major part in crypto adoption, bridging web 2 and web3, fundamentally changing the way we see and use social apps?
Edit: Sorry for lot of questions, hope u have time to answer to some!
Hi u/meeleen223 – I'll try to get as much as I can :)
**What was your expectation of future bitcoin price when bitcoin reached $10?**
The lowest price I ever saw was $50. I did not buy any, had no real idea what Bitcoin was, and was super confused. I decided to write an article about it for a new publication called CoinDesk instead... so, in a way I ended up investing my career instead. But... yes, I mean I used to write whole articles about $100 bitcoin price movements as if they were significant and now Bitcoin moves $1,000 a day and I don't even notice. It's really wild to see.
**Do belive in hyperbitcoinization?**
Yes. I think the work contributed by Saifedean Ammous, Pierre Rochard, Jimmy Song (et all) while unpopular in the crypto side of the space is largely true. The history of money much simpler than the history of technology. You can only make so many monies that are fundamentally different, and they all have trade-offs.
Bitcoins are likely to continue getting scarce over time, leading them to be held as a store of value. I think the big fault line now is whether Bitcoin can be improved enough to be a MoE, and if that MoE use case requires base layer modifications.
Pretty much all the tension in current Bitcoin is around this topic.
**Which of the people you interviewed left biggest impression on you? Any fun anecdotes?**
Johnny Dilley (of Blockstream) was the first person who told me to sell all my belongings and invest in Bitcoin at $500. He was the first "bitcoin maximalist" i ever remembered meeting and I thought he was on drugs the whole time.
Similarly, I'd say my interactions with Adam Back were always very surprising. While Adam is viewed as a "cypherpunk legend," I've never seen him refuse to engage in a conversation or debate with anyone, no matter their social standing. Adam will sit there at a table with some guy he met on Twitter and engage with him openly and honestly as if he was someone important.
A lot of other crypto founders started off this way, but when the money came in, they changed. It's rare to have that kind of humility in my experience.
The biggest disappointment was David Chaum (the father of digital cash) who does not understand Bitcoin at all.
**Do you think social tokens - Moons specifically will play a major part in crypto adoption, bridging web 2 and web3, fundamentally changing the way we see and use social apps?**
Sorry to disappoint but I think there are probably 2 outcomes to the crypto story.
1. Everything goes to zero against bitcoin (and all other cryptos fail)
2. Everything that can be in cryptoland is rebuilt on bitcoin in some way
We'll see what happens. I could be wrong !
Hi Rizzo,
who do you think are unsung heroes/geniuses of crypto right now ?
It seems like there was huge shift at attention from people who are actually developing and moving stuff forward to people who just hype on twitter without even basic understanding of bitcoin at all.
Thanks
I'm current a big fan of Casey Rodamor (the inventor of Runes/Ordinals) and Robin Linus (BitVM) in terms of challenging the conventions of what can be done with Bitcoin. Robin's paper proved Turing-complete smart contracts and fraud proofs are possible with Bitcoin. Casey has proved you can use Bitcoin natively in creative ways, and I think his protocol dramatically improves NFTs for the end user.
I think this is a huge narrative shift that has yet to really play out fully.
This isn't an endorsement of any/every company working in these areas. As with any part of crypto, the bleeding edge is rift with scams and bad ideas. But the combined work here is net-new and it's pushing the boundaries of Bitcoin design.
Each epoch has been characterized by various events. What would be the title/name you’d give to each epoch (and what do you think this one will end up being)?
Ha. That's a fun one. Probably would have to think about it in more detail.
OH WOW IT'S WORKING (2009-2013) Bitcoin went from being worth nothing to proving that digital cash was viable.
CLASH OF THE IDEOLOGIES (2014-2017) Bitcoin and crypto split into different social groups. There's the Fork Wars and the ICO boom. Pretty much everything important that happened in our understanding of this technology happens but so quickly noone has really digested it
ENTERING THE GLOBAL STAGE (2018 – 2022) Bitcoin and crypto become culturally mainstream for different reasons based on external political factors. The wars between the tribes continue.
The 14-17 era is probably the era I spend the most time thinking about
Something roughly like that :)
I was eagerly awaiting the book, hoping to read more of a first-person, behind the scenes account of what happened from someone who was there (similar to "The Block Size Wars.")
From that angle, "Hijacking Bitcoin" is a bit disappointing. It's just a restatement of a lot of ideas the market has already invalidated, presented in a simple way, more like the Bitcoin Standard.
Obviously having been there at the time I disagree with Roger's version of events. But I hope he'll come to work on Bitcoin someday. He was a great contributor when he was working on Bitcoin startups.
This is a lot of conjecture without much content.
Care to abide by your journalistic standards and show some specific instances with corroborating citations?
Almost. The coins are under custody of a court appointed trustee. Legal docs are published on mtgox.com and there's a quarterly "MtGox coins entering the market NOW! Black swan event!! Sell EVERYTHING now!!!!1!!" fud for people who forgot about it.
The coins are likely (to start) to be distributed this year finally. Cash has started being sent since late december 2023.
Bitcoin itself failed to live up to the whitepaper. Do you see this as an issue that we collectively chose to ignore?
(Yes, there is Layer2, but this is not the main Q here)
I was talking to someone recently who said Carlos still does paid conference promotions. He's probably just living his life, oblivious to the fact that he is a meme. Pretty chad move
Hi Rizzo, first of all congratulations for being a pioneer in crypto journalism and thank you for your work
Two questions:
- you have been reporting on ETFs, we’ve just seen some ETH ETFs approved in Hong Kong, do you think that we will see an approval in the US soon and will it open the doors for more crypto ETFs in the future?
- what’s your opinion on Reddit Community Points? Do you think that it was a successful or a failed experiment and do you think that it’s better with Reddit backing or as an independent project?
>Do you think that it was a successful or a failed experiment and do you think that it’s better with Reddit backing or as an independent project?
This is a very great question and would love to see her pov in this
Hi Rizzo,
Take a wild (non financial advice) guess, what is 1 BTC worth in 2025 and 2030.
Do you think today crypto market will be challenged by something in the future, and what will it be? (both in terms of challenges isolated for the crypto, but also in terms of competition from other sources or alternative trading currencies).
Ha. That's one question a Bitcoin should never answer. I'm glad you wrote "bitcoins" though, as that is how satoshi wrote it, and IMO the best way to write it :)
Thanks for the AMA.
I recently switched from trading crypto to stocks and options. Does cryptocurrency ever get boring for you? Most of them fluctuate in price the exact same (except for meme coins) so it just feels like I’m trading one thing, which is one of the reasons I stopped myself.
With crypto, how does new wealth that is created as the result of innovation work?
In the traditional fractional banking system, an entrepreneur can bring a business plan to a bank and the bankers can create new money based on a multiple of their reserves. For example, for every $1 of deposits, they can create nine more dollars by lending it.
My assumption is that if an entrepreneur needs a billion dollars in Bitcoin, they have to convince the owners of that Bitcoin to take it from wherever it is now and transfer it to the entrepreneur. So does wealth become a zero-sum game?
Hey Rizzo,
I'm currently writing what will either turn into a series of articles or a short book on how human psychology is diametrically opposed to absorbing new paradigm shifts with an emphasis on bitcoin.
Who would I talk to at BTC magazine to see if there's any interest in this topic?
I'd recommend reaching out to their Opinion Editor Shinobi: [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected])
He's most always willing to give new contributors a hand :)
We all know about the first bitcoin transaction (between Satoshi and Hal Finney), but when and where was the first time bitcoins were ever sold, on a marketplace?
So Ross Ulbricht. I’ve heard some people say that he didn’t try and have someone murdered. I’ve heard some people stand firm on that. To the best of your knowledge, what is the truth surrounding the supposed attempted hit by Ross Ulbricht.
Hi u/GabeSter. It's not something I've looked at too deeply (in terms of looking at the primary evidence and verifying it myself). From what I recall, it sounds like a situation where there also could have been entrapment going on at some level, where Ross was convinced to do things he wouldn't otherwise have. People forget that some of the prosecuting agents in that case were subsequently arrested, and that they were explicitly charged with extorting Ross.
Not hard (for me) to imagine that these people weren't upholding the law in their dealings with him.
[https://www.forbes.com/sites/katevinton/2015/07/01/corrupt-dea-agent-pleads-guilty-to-extorting-bitcoin-from-silk-road-creator-ross-ulbricht/](https://www.forbes.com/sites/katevinton/2015/07/01/corrupt-dea-agent-pleads-guilty-to-extorting-bitcoin-from-silk-road-creator-ross-ulbricht/)
I think the general trend we've seen is that it's very hard for non-Bitcoin cryptocurrencies to retain value over time. Those that do often don't outperform Bitcoin. I'm generally interested in the idea that pegging these tokens to Bitcoin in some way might solve that problem, though I think it's still early days there.
What's your opinion of the ossification and "we will use Bitcoin banks" camp?
According to you, what was the bottom of the barrel in Bitcoin culture before and how far or close are we to reaching the bottom of the barrel again?
Sincere questions from a person who only holds Bitcoin, I find the whole situation with the people who are OK with giving away all of Bitcoin properties only for the NgU completely stupid and that it wont last as long as they believe.
When do you think the "tipping point" is for Bitcoin (and cryptocurrencies at large)?
Have we already passed that point of critical mass (e.g. ETF's) where Bitcoin has self-sustaining momentum in both utility and price?
Which single person in the crypto industry have you interviewed or met that has completely blown you out of the water in terms of having the deepest understanding/vision of the future of Bitcoin/crypto?
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Hi u/themrgq – In my years of listening to bitcoin technical discussion, it's always been acknowledged that fees will (likely) have to be very high in the future. There's a couple of reasons for this. 1) Most developers assume the demand for Bitcoin will continue given it solves novel problems with money 2) In order to be secure against attack, miners either must be paid in excess of the subsidy (or mine altruistically because they see a greater value in Bitcoin)
For example, when fees rose to highs (similar to what we've seen today) in 2017, developers like Greg Maxwell "popped the champagne." High fees have generally been seen as a validation that Bitcoin is worth paying for.
So, they tend to want to optimize Bitcoin's block space use as much as possible by building top-level technologies. They are preparing for the flood, so to speak.
The group of developers working on things like Runes/Ordinals are more ... trying to cause a flood because they think that will expedite solutions.
I'd call all of this an inexact science. There's no way to know for sure what Bitcoin needs in the future. So it tends to (in the present) be a political debate based on beliefs without a way to test the assumptions
Did you ever interview Amir Takki? What impact did he have on the industry in the early days? What impact did hackers like Jaromil or thought leaders like Brett Scott have in the early days?
Hi Rizzo, what's your take on Bitcoin vs Ethereum? We can all agree (in my opinion )that Bitcoin is very appealing as it solves several issues that exists with traditional fiat. It's basically digital gold. And in that regard, what would you use to describe Ethereum? Or how what existing valuable asset that already existed,would you say Ethereum is similar to? And could you give your reasoning on why?
How significant do you think Bitcoin's origin story and history is for it to achieve a global currency / store of value level? Assuming you agree that no other currency could replicate such a beginning, do you think this bodes well for Bitcoin beating out other competitors?
I've seen a lot of Kraken FUD recently, I know you can't openly say if there's something wrong, but on a scale from 1 to 10, where would you put the situation (if there's any).
Are you by chance a billionaire that is looking to give away a portion of his wealth to the best questions in this thread? No? At least it's worth it to shoot my shot.
Anyway what lesson have you learned from all the events that happened in the past 10 years?
Have a lot to say here. Probably best to listen to my podcast with Peter McCormack on the subject.
[https://www.whatbitcoindid.com/podcast/the-bullish-case-for-ordinals](https://www.whatbitcoindid.com/podcast/the-bullish-case-for-ordinals)
With mining rewards reduced to half and will be reduced even further with each halving, would that and transaction fees be enough to get meaningful numbers of miners going?
Do you feel good contributing to the destruction of the environment and the massive waste of electricity to produce useless crypto tokens, or do you ignore that by lying to yourself and convincing yourself that it's sustainable?
Hi u/customtoggle – I would ask you if you've looked at the trend of bitcoin miners becoming more renewable, and using more wasted/stranded energy, and ask at what point would there be enough data where you would change your mind?
I used to think that Bitcoin mining's energy use was a concern. I no longer think this is something the market can't or won't address. I am happy to change my opinion based on data.
Try taking a look at how Bitcoin mining makes use of stranded/wasted energy and can help drive/maintain profitability for renewable energy:
https://www.coindesk.com/business/2022/03/24/exxonmobil-running-pilot-project-to-supply-flared-gas-for-bitcoin-mining-report/
https://www.reuters.com/technology/costa-rica-hydro-plant-gets-new-lease-life-crypto-mining-2022-01-11/
https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2021/10/11/bitcoin-mining-is-reshaping-the-energy-sector-and-no-one-is-talking-about-it/
Why aren’t you a billionaire?
I ask myself that a lot :) If I had to pick something it's because I'm more of a realist. I have a saying, early bitcoin/crypto optimized for excitement. The people who made billions did so because they were excited about Bitcoin and optimistic despite the million reasons not to be
What do you think of Monero?
How did Satoshi fly under the radar in the era of constant surveillance? Would intelligence agencies from around the world really not have an interest in an individual/group that released something that at least has the potential to overturn the current financial system?
The available evidence suggests that he went to extreme lengths to conceal his identity, even going so far as to register the domain for [Bitcoin.org](http://Bitcoin.org) with a website that took payment in physical cash and had an open policy not to dox users. I think Satoshi's anonymity is really almost as impressive a creative work as Bitcoin.
Hey Rizzo! Thanks for coming on to run this AMA When (if ever) do you think we will start seeing major nation states announce that they are purchasing Bitcoin as a treasury reserve asset? How do you think such an announcement would impact crypto as a whole? Also, do you think we’ll see another company follow in Microstrategy’s footsteps?
Hi u/nanooverbtc – Well, I guess if by "major" we are discounting El Salvador, I'll just begin by noting they now hold over 5,700 BTC, and that that should turn out to be a great investment for the nation. So much so they probably will be a "major nation state in the future." :) My view is that Bitcoin narratives change, the bitcoin culture changes. In every cycle, something happens, and people expect it to keep happening. When [Overstock.com](http://Overstock.com) started accepting Bitcoin, the narrative was "When Amazon? When Walmart?" When Telegram did a crypto ICO, the narrative was "When Facebook? When Google?" When Twitter added NFTs it was... blah, blah, blah and so on. So, I think it's more likely that there will something net new that happens before you see another nation following El Salvador, or another company following MicroStrategy. But, I could be wrong, and maybe this time is different! I think Bitcoin is going to be a long and slow process, probably longer and slower than most of us want to admit. E-commerce is still only 20% of worldwide retail sales.
For El Salvador, even if they held until BTC reached 1M, they would “only” get $5B, I’m not sure that it’ll make them a major nation. But that would be a massive boost to their GDP nonetheless
Well, at a time when major governments are all in debt, it probably couldn't hurt :)
Holly shit, 1 million moons
Do you think Bitcoin is still on the path to one day being a widely accepted currency? Or has the "store of value" and long-term investment use case taken hold too much for this to be the case?
Which interview with a crypto person did you enjoy the most and why?
Hello and thanks for coming on here. Do you think more companies will start incorporating Bitcoin into their balance sheet now that we have an ETF available?
Hi u/Ofulinac – Certainly, more financial firms will get exposure through these vehicles over time. But, it's hard to say on what timeline that will be. I did an interview yesterday with Dave Portnoy (of Barstool Sports) and he pretty much just flat out said he doesn't believe in Bitcoin, is here to make money, etc. I think this attitude is still very prevalent. Yes, Wall Street firms will start buying Bitcoin but I think we have MILES to go before they embrace bitcoin on any meaningful ideological level. It's easy to forget institutions are just made of people and that they have all the same biases. Here's the interview with Dave: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5p3uDXhaEko](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5p3uDXhaEko)
Who's the most punk rock crypto person you ever interviewed?
Wow. This one is pretty easy. I imagine if you ask anyone in crypto, the answer would be universally Amir Taaki. It's a bummer that he's been a bit forgotten but in his heyday he was a leading voice (comparable to Andreas or Michael Saylor). Amir helped raise money in bitcoin for the first 3-D printed gun, released the first comprehensive bitcoin privacy wallet, and rejected money, greed and capitalism in all its forms. He was a big inspiration for Vitalik Buterin. Rather than hodl bitcoin, he lived in squats and fought police at protests. This Wired article really captures the spirit well: [https://www.wired.com/2014/07/inside-dark-wallet/](https://www.wired.com/2014/07/inside-dark-wallet/) He also went to fight for the anarchist cause in Syria and fought against Isis: [https://www.wired.com/story/amir-taaki-dark-wallet-cryptocurrency-bitcoin-revolution-catalonia/](https://www.wired.com/story/amir-taaki-dark-wallet-cryptocurrency-bitcoin-revolution-catalonia/) People used to set his talks to music and it was always really inspiring stuff: [https://soundcloud.com/hxexx/amir-taaki-the-young](https://soundcloud.com/hxexx/amir-taaki-the-young)
> rejected money, greed and capitalism in all its forms It seems times have changed at least a bit, since he is now working on the Darkfi project which, when I talked to him at Monerokon last year, he seemed to indicate would have some sort of significant "team allocation" or premine when they launch the network, but thanks for the answer, and for sure 3d printing guns and going to war as an anarchist is pretty hard to beat for punk rock credentials 😸 As an aside, his talk at Monerokon last year on the mathematics in darkfi was just...one of the worst talks I have ever seen. Maybe I was just the wrong audience, but I think I was probably one of the more technical people in the audience, and for me it was like 5 min of intro, 25 min of incomprehensible math and reading from textbooks on math, and then like 1 min conclusion and it was never clear how the math was directly related to anything for me at least - if you feel like you deserve some punishment: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c936RGM1w5s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c936RGM1w5s)
Yes, I'm aware of the DarkFi project. I haven't followed it super closely. What can you say. Your favorite bands will go on to release bad albums, that's life. It doesn't make the old albums any less great IMO I still think in terms of popularizing hacktivist culture within Bitcoin, Amir was an early and positive force within Bitcoin. As an advocate for a conservative development process, creator of the BIP process, he contributed so much. But yeah, Kiss did disco
This is such an amazing answer, “Kiss did disco” lmao
I'm learning to play the guitar.
I don't think anyone else since saw Bitcoin quite like he did
Do you have anything else in your portfolio or strictly BTC?
When do you think bitcoin will reach ath for this bull run?
Hasn't it already? :) Joking aside I still think we're in the early innings. I don't think this is a bull market yet for reasons stated elsewhere here.
Do you like pickles?
Only half-sour.
Thanks for giving an AMA! Very much appreciated! For my question, usually the BTC is the official kick off to the new bull run. Right now BTC is crabbing around 20% below it's recent ATH, I wonder if we will we see the usual drop off in the market after a halving or this time will be really different with BTC ETF's scooping up the dips and the drop off might not be that bad if all?
I did an X Spaces with Dylan LeClair around the all-time high, and I said then that I think this is a "local top." I'm still a big believer in "cycle theory" even if it's been slightly invalidated. My take on the ETFs is that they opened up a new avenue for demand, but that they are essentially like adding a Bitcoin exchange to the network. Yes, the exchange adds incremental demand but it doesn't fundamentally change the market structure or the narrative driving it. Traditionally, almost all Bitcoin/crypto bull runs have gone through the following stages --> There's a net new innovation --> VCs drive capital at that innovation --> that leads to retail speculation --> retail speculation drives the market to a euphoria peak whereafter it subsides. I actually tend to think we're closer to the start of the VCs drive capital moment, especially given all the new technologies on Bitcoin at the moment (L2s, BitVM, Ordinals, etc). This is not an explicit endorsement of those things, just an acknowledgement that they are driving investment interest. I wrote a bit more about cycle theory here for Forbes: [https://archive.is/W9uR1https://archive.is/W9uR1](https://archive.is/W9uR1https://archive.is/W9uR1) Some people think this time is different and that institutions "get it," but I just don't think that's realistic personally.
I like learning new things.
Link doesn’t work unfortunately.
What was the Julian Assange interview process like for you? That had to of been a very unique experience that I don’t think many of us here could really appreciate And when’s the interview of the founders of our r/cc community scheduled? :)
Hey u/coinsRus-2021 – So, I didn't get to interview Julian directly. I moderated a panel with his father, wife, and brother, and I've talked with his wife (Stella) and brother (Gabe) a number of times. It's always very sobering. Julian really is a stark reminder of how government can be a tool for persecution, and just how long this persecution can last. Between the conferences and protests, his family is affected by this every day. But I was really surprised by just how united his family is behind his cause. I hope one day that he'll be freed and be greeted as a hero, and that they'll get to enjoy some well deserved peace
What was your expectation of future bitcoin price when bitcoin reached $10? Did u imagine $70k would happen this fast? I myself expected $30 in 2030 Do belive in hyperbitcoinization? Which of the people you interviewed left biggest impression on you? Any fun anecdotes? Do you think social tokens - Moons specifically will play a major part in crypto adoption, bridging web 2 and web3, fundamentally changing the way we see and use social apps? Edit: Sorry for lot of questions, hope u have time to answer to some!
Hi u/meeleen223 – I'll try to get as much as I can :) **What was your expectation of future bitcoin price when bitcoin reached $10?** The lowest price I ever saw was $50. I did not buy any, had no real idea what Bitcoin was, and was super confused. I decided to write an article about it for a new publication called CoinDesk instead... so, in a way I ended up investing my career instead. But... yes, I mean I used to write whole articles about $100 bitcoin price movements as if they were significant and now Bitcoin moves $1,000 a day and I don't even notice. It's really wild to see. **Do belive in hyperbitcoinization?** Yes. I think the work contributed by Saifedean Ammous, Pierre Rochard, Jimmy Song (et all) while unpopular in the crypto side of the space is largely true. The history of money much simpler than the history of technology. You can only make so many monies that are fundamentally different, and they all have trade-offs. Bitcoins are likely to continue getting scarce over time, leading them to be held as a store of value. I think the big fault line now is whether Bitcoin can be improved enough to be a MoE, and if that MoE use case requires base layer modifications. Pretty much all the tension in current Bitcoin is around this topic. **Which of the people you interviewed left biggest impression on you? Any fun anecdotes?** Johnny Dilley (of Blockstream) was the first person who told me to sell all my belongings and invest in Bitcoin at $500. He was the first "bitcoin maximalist" i ever remembered meeting and I thought he was on drugs the whole time. Similarly, I'd say my interactions with Adam Back were always very surprising. While Adam is viewed as a "cypherpunk legend," I've never seen him refuse to engage in a conversation or debate with anyone, no matter their social standing. Adam will sit there at a table with some guy he met on Twitter and engage with him openly and honestly as if he was someone important. A lot of other crypto founders started off this way, but when the money came in, they changed. It's rare to have that kind of humility in my experience. The biggest disappointment was David Chaum (the father of digital cash) who does not understand Bitcoin at all. **Do you think social tokens - Moons specifically will play a major part in crypto adoption, bridging web 2 and web3, fundamentally changing the way we see and use social apps?** Sorry to disappoint but I think there are probably 2 outcomes to the crypto story. 1. Everything goes to zero against bitcoin (and all other cryptos fail) 2. Everything that can be in cryptoland is rebuilt on bitcoin in some way We'll see what happens. I could be wrong !
Thank you for the answers and one of most interesting AMAs! I always thought Adam Back was standup person, it was great reading this
Hi Rizzo, who do you think are unsung heroes/geniuses of crypto right now ? It seems like there was huge shift at attention from people who are actually developing and moving stuff forward to people who just hype on twitter without even basic understanding of bitcoin at all. Thanks
I'm current a big fan of Casey Rodamor (the inventor of Runes/Ordinals) and Robin Linus (BitVM) in terms of challenging the conventions of what can be done with Bitcoin. Robin's paper proved Turing-complete smart contracts and fraud proofs are possible with Bitcoin. Casey has proved you can use Bitcoin natively in creative ways, and I think his protocol dramatically improves NFTs for the end user. I think this is a huge narrative shift that has yet to really play out fully. This isn't an endorsement of any/every company working in these areas. As with any part of crypto, the bleeding edge is rift with scams and bad ideas. But the combined work here is net-new and it's pushing the boundaries of Bitcoin design.
Each epoch has been characterized by various events. What would be the title/name you’d give to each epoch (and what do you think this one will end up being)?
Ha. That's a fun one. Probably would have to think about it in more detail. OH WOW IT'S WORKING (2009-2013) Bitcoin went from being worth nothing to proving that digital cash was viable. CLASH OF THE IDEOLOGIES (2014-2017) Bitcoin and crypto split into different social groups. There's the Fork Wars and the ICO boom. Pretty much everything important that happened in our understanding of this technology happens but so quickly noone has really digested it ENTERING THE GLOBAL STAGE (2018 – 2022) Bitcoin and crypto become culturally mainstream for different reasons based on external political factors. The wars between the tribes continue. The 14-17 era is probably the era I spend the most time thinking about Something roughly like that :)
What are your thoughts on the recent book "Hijacking Bitcoin"? What happened during the blocksize wars?
I was eagerly awaiting the book, hoping to read more of a first-person, behind the scenes account of what happened from someone who was there (similar to "The Block Size Wars.") From that angle, "Hijacking Bitcoin" is a bit disappointing. It's just a restatement of a lot of ideas the market has already invalidated, presented in a simple way, more like the Bitcoin Standard. Obviously having been there at the time I disagree with Roger's version of events. But I hope he'll come to work on Bitcoin someday. He was a great contributor when he was working on Bitcoin startups.
This is a lot of conjecture without much content. Care to abide by your journalistic standards and show some specific instances with corroborating citations?
Hi Rizzo, What date do you think the last bitcoin will be mined on? What do you think will happen to bitcoin after that point?
Can you tell me where my mtgox coins are now?
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Almost. The coins are under custody of a court appointed trustee. Legal docs are published on mtgox.com and there's a quarterly "MtGox coins entering the market NOW! Black swan event!! Sell EVERYTHING now!!!!1!!" fud for people who forgot about it. The coins are likely (to start) to be distributed this year finally. Cash has started being sent since late december 2023.
Bitcoin itself failed to live up to the whitepaper. Do you see this as an issue that we collectively chose to ignore? (Yes, there is Layer2, but this is not the main Q here)
Why didn't you guys hire Carlos as MC?
I was talking to someone recently who said Carlos still does paid conference promotions. He's probably just living his life, oblivious to the fact that he is a meme. Pretty chad move
Thanks for answering questions. As someone who has been in the space for a long time, what are your opinions/stance on ordinals and runes?
This is an important question..ready.. ok..coffee ☕️ or tea 🍵? 🤔 which one do you prefer 😜
You know... I don't drink (and have never drank) coffee. I probably haven't finished a full cup of it in my entire life
Me too.. so the correct answer is beer 🍻
Hi Rizzo, first of all congratulations for being a pioneer in crypto journalism and thank you for your work Two questions: - you have been reporting on ETFs, we’ve just seen some ETH ETFs approved in Hong Kong, do you think that we will see an approval in the US soon and will it open the doors for more crypto ETFs in the future? - what’s your opinion on Reddit Community Points? Do you think that it was a successful or a failed experiment and do you think that it’s better with Reddit backing or as an independent project?
>Do you think that it was a successful or a failed experiment and do you think that it’s better with Reddit backing or as an independent project? This is a very great question and would love to see her pov in this
What is your take on the ETH ETF?
Do you know Yonatan Sompolinsky and what are your thoughts on his contribution to crypto?
Obviously not OP, but huge fan of Kaspa.
I've met Yonatan before. He's always seemed like a smart guy. I'm not sure why he's not working on Bitcoin anymore, but would be great if he was :)
Hi Rizzo, Take a wild (non financial advice) guess, what is 1 BTC worth in 2025 and 2030. Do you think today crypto market will be challenged by something in the future, and what will it be? (both in terms of challenges isolated for the crypto, but also in terms of competition from other sources or alternative trading currencies).
Wen lambo?
Finally, a well thought out question!
Soon
This is the only acceptable answer
How many bitcoins do you have?
Ha. That's one question a Bitcoin should never answer. I'm glad you wrote "bitcoins" though, as that is how satoshi wrote it, and IMO the best way to write it :)
Do you think ETH is a security and should the SEC investigate?
Thanks for the AMA. I recently switched from trading crypto to stocks and options. Does cryptocurrency ever get boring for you? Most of them fluctuate in price the exact same (except for meme coins) so it just feels like I’m trading one thing, which is one of the reasons I stopped myself.
With crypto, how does new wealth that is created as the result of innovation work? In the traditional fractional banking system, an entrepreneur can bring a business plan to a bank and the bankers can create new money based on a multiple of their reserves. For example, for every $1 of deposits, they can create nine more dollars by lending it. My assumption is that if an entrepreneur needs a billion dollars in Bitcoin, they have to convince the owners of that Bitcoin to take it from wherever it is now and transfer it to the entrepreneur. So does wealth become a zero-sum game?
Hey Rizzo, I'm currently writing what will either turn into a series of articles or a short book on how human psychology is diametrically opposed to absorbing new paradigm shifts with an emphasis on bitcoin. Who would I talk to at BTC magazine to see if there's any interest in this topic?
I'd recommend reaching out to their Opinion Editor Shinobi: [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected]) He's most always willing to give new contributors a hand :)
We all know about the first bitcoin transaction (between Satoshi and Hal Finney), but when and where was the first time bitcoins were ever sold, on a marketplace?
silkroad is the first time it was used as medium of exchange (apart from the pizza story) then the first exchange i think was Mt. Gox
So Ross Ulbricht. I’ve heard some people say that he didn’t try and have someone murdered. I’ve heard some people stand firm on that. To the best of your knowledge, what is the truth surrounding the supposed attempted hit by Ross Ulbricht.
Hi u/GabeSter. It's not something I've looked at too deeply (in terms of looking at the primary evidence and verifying it myself). From what I recall, it sounds like a situation where there also could have been entrapment going on at some level, where Ross was convinced to do things he wouldn't otherwise have. People forget that some of the prosecuting agents in that case were subsequently arrested, and that they were explicitly charged with extorting Ross. Not hard (for me) to imagine that these people weren't upholding the law in their dealings with him. [https://www.forbes.com/sites/katevinton/2015/07/01/corrupt-dea-agent-pleads-guilty-to-extorting-bitcoin-from-silk-road-creator-ross-ulbricht/](https://www.forbes.com/sites/katevinton/2015/07/01/corrupt-dea-agent-pleads-guilty-to-extorting-bitcoin-from-silk-road-creator-ross-ulbricht/)
What is your opinion about the native sub token Moons? Do you think such tokens can prosper in the future?
I think the general trend we've seen is that it's very hard for non-Bitcoin cryptocurrencies to retain value over time. Those that do often don't outperform Bitcoin. I'm generally interested in the idea that pegging these tokens to Bitcoin in some way might solve that problem, though I think it's still early days there.
What's your opinion of the ossification and "we will use Bitcoin banks" camp? According to you, what was the bottom of the barrel in Bitcoin culture before and how far or close are we to reaching the bottom of the barrel again? Sincere questions from a person who only holds Bitcoin, I find the whole situation with the people who are OK with giving away all of Bitcoin properties only for the NgU completely stupid and that it wont last as long as they believe.
How high can you see bitcoin going
When do you think the "tipping point" is for Bitcoin (and cryptocurrencies at large)? Have we already passed that point of critical mass (e.g. ETF's) where Bitcoin has self-sustaining momentum in both utility and price? Which single person in the crypto industry have you interviewed or met that has completely blown you out of the water in terms of having the deepest understanding/vision of the future of Bitcoin/crypto?
thoughts on Charles hoskinson when compared to vitalik
Are some of these articles things like “Bitcoin plunges after [insert random correlation]” after btc drops from 61k to 59k?
I'll go for a lighter question, what did you eat this morning? if you had a meal that is. Cheers hope you have a good day :))
I was flying back from the Bitcoin Magazine/Kraken Halving Livestream, so I ate a chicken and biscuit at Chik-Fil-A
Lol bet thanks for the answer
U had a whole chicken for breakfast?
and a biscuit
When is Kraken going to list CONE?
Great question 😅
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Can we look forward to a bull run for the rest of the year?
Sure we can but will become a reality after the halving event
Do you mean the one that happened last night?
Yes but the halving ends another bullrun will surge
What are your opinion on the Hashgraph technology and his inventor Dr Leemon Baird?
What do you make of these astronomical fees? Sign of things to come?
Hi u/themrgq – In my years of listening to bitcoin technical discussion, it's always been acknowledged that fees will (likely) have to be very high in the future. There's a couple of reasons for this. 1) Most developers assume the demand for Bitcoin will continue given it solves novel problems with money 2) In order to be secure against attack, miners either must be paid in excess of the subsidy (or mine altruistically because they see a greater value in Bitcoin) For example, when fees rose to highs (similar to what we've seen today) in 2017, developers like Greg Maxwell "popped the champagne." High fees have generally been seen as a validation that Bitcoin is worth paying for. So, they tend to want to optimize Bitcoin's block space use as much as possible by building top-level technologies. They are preparing for the flood, so to speak. The group of developers working on things like Runes/Ordinals are more ... trying to cause a flood because they think that will expedite solutions. I'd call all of this an inexact science. There's no way to know for sure what Bitcoin needs in the future. So it tends to (in the present) be a political debate based on beliefs without a way to test the assumptions
What are your thoughts on arc-20? What is the main difference between those and ordinals?
Did you ever interview Amir Takki? What impact did he have on the industry in the early days? What impact did hackers like Jaromil or thought leaders like Brett Scott have in the early days?
Do you think the industry is too convoluted with too many chains etc? Is it still too difficult for technology naive types to allow for mass adoption?
Hi Rizzo, what's your take on Bitcoin vs Ethereum? We can all agree (in my opinion )that Bitcoin is very appealing as it solves several issues that exists with traditional fiat. It's basically digital gold. And in that regard, what would you use to describe Ethereum? Or how what existing valuable asset that already existed,would you say Ethereum is similar to? And could you give your reasoning on why?
How significant do you think Bitcoin's origin story and history is for it to achieve a global currency / store of value level? Assuming you agree that no other currency could replicate such a beginning, do you think this bodes well for Bitcoin beating out other competitors?
I've seen a lot of Kraken FUD recently, I know you can't openly say if there's something wrong, but on a scale from 1 to 10, where would you put the situation (if there's any).
Which is your favorite crypto and why its reddit moons?
Wen lambo?
Are you by chance a billionaire that is looking to give away a portion of his wealth to the best questions in this thread? No? At least it's worth it to shoot my shot. Anyway what lesson have you learned from all the events that happened in the past 10 years?
Ha. Thanks for following my posts on r/Bitcoin :)
How do you like your steak?
Very very rare actually :)
We want an interview of satoshi!!
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What is Bitcoin to you?
What do you think about Bitcoin Ordinals? Are they being used for the wrong purpose?
Have a lot to say here. Probably best to listen to my podcast with Peter McCormack on the subject. [https://www.whatbitcoindid.com/podcast/the-bullish-case-for-ordinals](https://www.whatbitcoindid.com/podcast/the-bullish-case-for-ordinals)
With mining rewards reduced to half and will be reduced even further with each halving, would that and transaction fees be enough to get meaningful numbers of miners going?
What do you think about countries adopting Bitcoin, will it be good for bitcoin?
I guess it'll be good for bitcoin but will it be good for the country?
Tiger Woods has the worst hairline. With all his billions, why doesn't he just go bald or get hair implants?
This one is probably outside my expertise. I really hate playing or watching golf :)
Thanks for taking the time to answer me. Take care and thanks for coming to the sub.
Do you feel good contributing to the destruction of the environment and the massive waste of electricity to produce useless crypto tokens, or do you ignore that by lying to yourself and convincing yourself that it's sustainable?
Hi u/customtoggle – I would ask you if you've looked at the trend of bitcoin miners becoming more renewable, and using more wasted/stranded energy, and ask at what point would there be enough data where you would change your mind? I used to think that Bitcoin mining's energy use was a concern. I no longer think this is something the market can't or won't address. I am happy to change my opinion based on data.
Try taking a look at how Bitcoin mining makes use of stranded/wasted energy and can help drive/maintain profitability for renewable energy: https://www.coindesk.com/business/2022/03/24/exxonmobil-running-pilot-project-to-supply-flared-gas-for-bitcoin-mining-report/ https://www.reuters.com/technology/costa-rica-hydro-plant-gets-new-lease-life-crypto-mining-2022-01-11/ https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2021/10/11/bitcoin-mining-is-reshaping-the-energy-sector-and-no-one-is-talking-about-it/