TPB71 - Scaling Bitcoin with Erik

TPB71 - Scaling Bitcoin with Erik

Author: Bitcoin is for Everyone January 30, 2024 Duration: 1:29:54

“Bitcoin is most useful if more people use it.” - Erik

My guest today is Erik. Erik is a UX designer and has worked on many bitcoin projects including Hoseki and eNuts, a cashu wallet for android and iOS. Cashu is a free and open-source Chaumian ecash system built for Bitcoin that offers near-perfect privacy for users of custodial Bitcoin applications.

We discuss Bitcoin design, usability, cashu and the privacy benefits and importance, scaling bitcoin both at a protocol and cultural layer, political ideologies, freedom of speech, hope for reform, and more.

Follow Erik on X.

You can find Trey on nostr and via the pod’s social channels

SPONSORS:

NEW* ZEUS is an open-source, self-custodial Bitcoin wallet that gives you full control over how you make payments. Head to Zuesln.com to learn more and download.

BitBox: My favorite bitcoin hardware wallet for keeping your bitcoin safe in cold storage. Use promo-code TPB during checkout to get 5% off your purchase: https://bitbox.swiss/tpb 

Sazmining: Get $50 off the purchase of a miner using the following link: https://app.sazmining.com/purchase?ref=byyhN2mCGXlu. Sazmining is a Hosted Bitcoin Mining provider with a commitment to using 100% renewable energy for your mining operation.

Support The Progressive Bitcoiner: https://geyser.fund/project/theprogressivebitcoiner 

Join in on the conversation at our Progressive Bitcoiner Community telegram group!

The Team:

Producer/Editor: @DamienSomerset

Branding/Art: @Daniel

Website: @EvanPrim



This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit progressivebitcoiner.substack.com

There’s a common story told about Bitcoin, one focused on speculation and a certain type of enthusiast. The Progressive Bitcoiner exists to tell the rest of the story. This podcast moves past the headlines to explore how this technology is being used in tangible, human ways around the world. You’ll hear from organizers, developers, and everyday people who are applying Bitcoin as a practical tool for financial inclusion and personal autonomy. Each conversation focuses on real-world impact, whether that’s supporting human rights work, providing an economic lifeline in unstable regions, or simply offering a new way to think about value and community. Hosted by Bitcoin is for Everyone, the discussions are grounded in education and firsthand narratives, linking the technical foundations to broader cultural and societal shifts. The aim isn’t to hype an asset, but to document a movement. Tune in for a perspective that is often missing from the mainstream conversation-one that finds the progressive potential within a protocol and amplifies the voices already building a more accessible future with it.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

The Progressive Bitcoiner
Podcast Episodes
TPB64 - Toward a Science of the Political with Natalie Smolenski [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:26:40
"Regardless of what is happening in the wider world, what is it that you can build right where you are today that others can inherit from you that leaves the world better?" My guest today is Natalie Smolenski. Natalie is…
TPB63 - Using Bitcoin Around the World with The Bitcoin Explorers [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:35:26
"Bitcoin is the most powerful tool to protect human rights and financial freedom all over the world." My guests today are Laura and Rikki, aka the Bitcoin Explorers. In addition to their work through the Bitcoin Explorer…
TPB62 - Why Bitcoin Matters for Gen Z with Ella Hough & Arsh Molu [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:11:22
"Gen Z...recognize the problems, but it just comes down to how they can be equipped." - Arsh My guests today are Ella Hough and Arsh Molu. Ella is a junior at Cornell University’s College of Arts and Sciences, pursuing d…
TPB60 - How Bitcoin Benefits Workers with Dom Bei and Lisa Hough [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:21:05
"If you really care about fixing problems, you really have to take a look at these solutions like Bitcoin." My guests today are Lisa Hough and Dom Bei. Lisa is a former natural gas trader and currently serves as the VP o…
TPB59 - Nostr: The Everything App of Freedom with Ben Arc & Rabble [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:45:48
"The history of social change shows us that it's not fear that leads to better situations. It's Hope." - Rabble My guests today are Ben Arc and Rabble. Ben is a FOSS (free and open source software) hobbyist and activist,…
TPB58 - Bitcoin's Bullish Case for Humanity with Alex Gladstein [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:13:34
"Bitcoin has tremendous promise to penetrate some of the inertia and perpetual suffering we see in the world." My guest today is Alex Gladstein. Alex is Chief Strategy Officer at the Human Rights Foundation, a 501(c)3 no…
TPB57 - What the Left Should Know About Money with Lyn Alden [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:15:03
"I think the Left probably has a bigger disconnect on money than we see elsewhere." My guest today is Lyn Alden. Lyn is a macroeconomist, author, and founder of Lyn Alden Investment Strategy. Far from a niche libertarian…
TPB56 - Bitcoin as a Progressive Force for Good with Bradley Rettler [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:30:06
My guest today is Bradley Rettler. Bradley is an Associate Professor of Philosophy at the University of Wyoming and a member of the research collective Resistance Money alongside Andrew Bailey and Craig Warmke. In this e…
TPB55 - Bitcoin in a Nuanced and Complex World with Mike Brock [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:56:18
My guest today is Mike Brock, CEO of TBD, (a part of Block), which focuses on building open source, decentralized technologies. In this wide-ranging conversation, Mike discusses Bitcoin's relationship to politics, cultur…