Uploaded August 2021 | Updated September 2026, 56 minutes ago
El Salvador’s decision to make bitcoin legal tender shocked the world. Soon, the dust will settle and catchy headlines will become real, lived experiences for Salvadorans.
Join hosts Adam B. Levine, Andreas M. Antonopoulos and Stephanie Murphy for a read-through and thoughtful conversation of El Salvador’s bitcoin legislation in full. The hosts discuss the highs and lows of the bill and potential risks to the country, its citizens and bitcoin globally.
Though many had predicted governmental adoption of bitcoin would come, none had predicted it would happen so soon. The rest of the world has watched attentively as El Salvador embarks on a nation-scale trial run of bitcoin as legal tender. This unprecedented circumstance brings an abundance of technical and social challenges.
What will the great successes be with this experiment? Where can it go wrong? And how will the Lightning Network factor in? Most worryingly, will El Salvadore’s trust fund be the world’s biggest honeypot?
The bitcoin bill is set to go in effect in less than two months. Will El Salvador be able to address these concerns in time?
Links from the episode:
Bitcoin as Legal Tender? Why El Salvador’s Plan Isn’t as Crazy as You Think (Adam's Opinion piece)
coindesk.com/bitcoin-el-salvadors-legal-tender
Bitcoin Neutrality (Andreas's original 2013 talk)
youtube.com/watch?v=EiW4lKrMXQ4
Have any questions or comments? Send us an email at adam@speakingofbitcoin.show
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Today's show featured Andreas M. Antonopoulos, Stephanie Murphy and Adam B. Levine. This episode was edited by Jonas, with music by Jared Rubens and Gurty Beats.
Our album art is based off a photo by Photo by Wilson Edilberto Santana Suarez on Unsplash, modified by Speaking of Bitcoin
El Salvador’s decision to make bitcoin legal tender shocked the world. Soon, the dust will settle and catchy headlines will become real, lived experiences for Salvadorans.
Join hosts Adam B. Levine, Andreas M. Antonopoulos and Stephanie Murphy for a read-through and thoughtful conversation of El Salvador’s bitcoin legislation in full. The hosts discuss the highs and lows of the bill and potential risks to the country, its citizens and bitcoin globally.
Though many had predicted governmental adoption of bitcoin would come, none had predicted it would happen so soon. The rest of the world has watched attentively as El Salvador embarks on a nation-scale trial run of bitcoin as legal tender. This unprecedented circumstance brings an abundance of technical and social challenges.
What will the great successes be with this experiment? Where can it go wrong? And how will the Lightning Network factor in? Most worryingly, will El Salvadore’s trust fund be the world’s biggest honeypot?
The bitcoin bill is set to go in effect in less than two months. Will El Salvador be able to address these concerns in time?
Links from the episode:
Bitcoin as Legal Tender? Why El Salvador’s Plan Isn’t as Crazy as You Think (Adam's Opinion piece)
coindesk.com/bitcoin-el-salvadors-legal-tender
Bitcoin Neutrality (Andreas's original 2013 talk)
youtube.com/watch?v=EiW4lKrMXQ4
Have any questions or comments? Send us an email at adam@speakingofbitcoin.show
Prefer the podcast version? Subscribe for free:
Apple: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/lets…1463398832?uo=4
Direct RSS: anchor.fm/s/b421fd4/podcast/rss
Spotify: open.spotify.com/show/2u3oXWilTSFmZ034vQeUGq
Google: www.google.com/podcasts?feed=aHR…0L3BvZGNhc3QvcnNz
Overcast: overcast.fm/itunes640581455/the…alk-bitcoin-network
Stitcher: www.stitcher.com/podcast/anchor-p…s-talk-bitcoin-2
Radio Public: radiopublic.com/lets-talk-bitcoin-8jOrdv
PocketCasts: pca.st/DU8V
Podbean: www.podbean.com/podcast-detail/sj…itcoin%21-Podcast
Today's show featured Andreas M. Antonopoulos, Stephanie Murphy and Adam B. Levine. This episode was edited by Jonas, with music by Jared Rubens and Gurty Beats.
Our album art is based off a photo by Photo by Wilson Edilberto Santana Suarez on Unsplash, modified by Speaking of Bitcoin
![Cryptocurrency Explained: How to Get More Privacy on Bitcoin Transactions [Privacy is a Human Right]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/JN1Bowgcle8/mqdefault.jpg "Cryptocurrency Explained: How to Get More Privacy on Bitcoin Transactions [Privacy is a Human Right]
In bitcoin, privacy isnt a one and done sort of thing. However, there are simple ways you can increase privacy on your bitcoin transactions right now. Watch this video to learn how. Of course, these ideas apply to other cryptocurrencies and cryptoassets too.
Chapters
0:00 What are some of the steps one should take to gain privacy while using bitcoin - from simple to advanced?
0:16 You have to do layered defenses
0:42 How you source your bitcoin in the first place
1:22 Buy bitcoin from bitcoin ATMs
2:03 Acquire bitcoin in a person-to-person transaction
2:20 Earn bitcoin
2:41 Avoid address re-use
3:18 Network operational security on all your connections
3:51 Use privacy improving tools
4:38 Financial independence and sovereignty
5:20 Opting out to the system of surveillance and traditional finance is the first step
This question is from one of aantonops many Q&A livestream sessions. If you want to ask questions early (before the live event), become a Community Builder on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/aantonop Patrons get early access to ask questions, view talks, behind-the-scenes content, and much more.
Related Videos
Bitcoin Q&A: Watchtowers, Justice Transactions, and Privacy on the Lightning Network: https://youtu.be/h2jvUcJqtmI
Bitcoin Q&A: Why KYC is dangerous - Microviolations of Privacy As Payment - https://youtu.be/rwF7nMWUjBs
Bitcoin Q&A: Privacy is a Human Right https://youtu.be/p4oOrMejI3k
COMMENT below and let us know what you think of the video. Post your follow-up questions there too!
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LEARN from Andreas in one of his popular Workshops which will teach you practical crypto skills. There’s even a FREE Intro to Bitcoin & Open Blockchains to get you started. https://aantonop.io/takeaworkshop You can also learn from one of his many books. Andreas has written three technical books for developers about blockchain technology, Mastering Bitcoin, Mastering Ethereum, and Mastering the Lightning Network (2021) published by O’Reilly Media. He’s also written The Internet of Money Series books, which explain why bitcoin, ethereum, and open blockchains matter.
About aantonop: Andreas isnt promoting a company or an organization; hes paid by the community (people who support this work on Patreon and YouTube) and provides an unbiased look at open blockchain technologies, what they can do for our societies, and how to get involved (if you decide you want to). Learn more at https://aantonop.com
From Andreas: You may already know that my mission is to educate as many people as possible about #Bitcoin and open blockchain technologies. Watching these videos and sharing them with others is a big part of that. Thank you for being part of this mission.
***Learn More From Andreas’ Workshops, Books & Events**
Amazon & Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B00MVAG8Z8
Audible: https://www.audible.com/author/Andreas-M-Antonopoulos/B00MVAG8Z8
E-books & Merch: https://aantonop.io/shop
Patreon: https://patreon.com/aantonop
Website: https://aantonop.com
Workshops: https://aantonop.com/workshops
***Connect with Andreas on Socials***
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AndreasMAntonopoulos
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/amantonop/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/aantonop/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/aantonop
Thanks for watching!")
![New Bitcoin & Cryptocurrency Exchange Regulations in the US [Self-Hosted Wallets Unaffected]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Jh0hocs-_PA/mqdefault.jpg "New Bitcoin & Cryptocurrency Exchange Regulations in the US [Self-Hosted Wallets Unaffected]
Is the Trump administration is trying to push through bitcoin & cryptocurrency wallet regulations in the USA? Maybe youve seen the CEO of Coinbase make statements against these regulations. But whats actually being proposed? Why are exchange CEOs making statements [HINT: its not altruism or principles]? Watch this 10 min video to learn what these proposed regulations are, how theyd affect regular crypto users, why the regulations would be impotent if actually enacted, and why CEOs of exchanges are worried.
Chapters
0:00 Donald Trump asks, Whats your opinion about the rumored burdensome cryptocurrency wallet rules that I may rush out soon? (obviously this is a pseudonym and POTUS did not actually ask this question)
0:32 You should be using self-hosted bitcoin crypto wallets, non-custodial wallets where you control the cryptocurrency keys
0:48 Financial regulators are getting nervous about... burdensome civil liberties and freedom
1:17 They are trying to regulate the use of self-hosted wallets, by way of regulations on cryptocurrency exchanges
2:01 You cannot enforce regulations on how people use their own self-hosted cryptocurrency wallets
2:55 Can you prove the address youre withdrawing to belongs to you? (yes, always)
3:00 The proposed law: when you withdraw from an exchange, you must prove the address youre withdrawing to belongs to you
4:02 Cryptocurrency exchanges would be negatively affected but not users of self-hosted wallets
5:12 How easy would these proposed regulations be to bypass? Too easy, trivially easy
8:23 The regulation will make cryptocurrency exchanges less valuable, less useful, and more expensive than self-hosted wallets
8:56 Making Not Your Keys, Not Your Coins even more attractive
10:00 What is the impact of these regulations? Drive more people to self-custody of their cryptocurrency!
This question is from the November 2020 monthly Bitcoin & Open Blockchain livestream event, which took place on November 28, 2020. Watch the entire video here: https://aantonop.io/nov2020livestreamqa. If you want to ask questions early (before the live event), become a Community Builder on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/aantonop Patrons get early access to ask questions, view talks, behind-the-scenes content, and much more.
Take a look at some of our favorite questions from Monthly Livestream videos:
Bitcoin Q&A: Climbing the sovereignty staircase - https://youtu.be/pOVm8YK3A_0
How do Mnemonic Seeds work? https://youtu.be/wWCIQFNf_8g
COMMENT below and let us know what you think of the video. Post your follow-up questions there too!
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LEARN for FREE take aantonops Introduction to Bitcoin and Open Blockchain workshop now, for free. https://aantonop.io
About aantonop: Andreas isnt promoting a company or an organization; hes paid by the community (people who support this work on Patreon and YouTube) and provides an unbiased look at open blockchain technologies, what they can do for our societies, and how to get involved (if you decide you want to). Learn more at https://aantonop.com
From Andreas: You may already know that my mission is to educate as many people as possible about #Bitcoin and open blockchain technologies. Watching these videos and sharing them with others is a big part of that. Thank you for being part of this mission.
***Learn More From Andreas’ Workshops, Books & Events**
Amazon & Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B00MVAG8Z8
Audible: https://www.audible.com/author/Andreas-M-Antonopoulos/B00MVAG8Z8
E-books & Merch: https://aantonop.io/shop
Patreon: https://patreon.com/aantonop
Website: https://aantonop.com
Workshops: https://aantonop.com/workshops
***Connect with Andreas on Socials***
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AndreasMAntonopoulos
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Thanks for watching!")
![Cheaters Cant Cheat: Fairness Protocol Explained [The value in bitcoin, ethereum, open blockchains]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/JtyRN4YFRFI/mqdefault.jpg "Cheaters Cant Cheat: Fairness Protocol Explained [The value in bitcoin, ethereum, open blockchains]
What is really unique and valuable about bitcoin or ethereum? Its more than monetary policy. More than smart contracts. In this video, Andreas explains what he calls, The Fairness Protocol, using a story from his childhood of his cousins, a bowl of french fries, and the dilemma of how to fairly split the food between two hungry boys. Watch this video to understand how open blockchains, like bitcoin, have value - in a whole new way, the fairness protocol.
Chapters
0:00 Wait, havent bitcoin, ethereum, and open blockchains already won? The industry is booming!
0:51 Stop celebrating the moneyed interests, start remembering why were doing this.
1:51 We care about achieving certain goals. Decentralization isnt the goal.
2:19 The goal is fairness. How do we get to a fair society?
2:54 Decentralization, consensus algorithms, blockchains are ways to achieve fairness, in a new way.
3:24 Fighting over chips: the story of my aunt, 2 cousins, and 1 bowl of french fries
6:05 The game of split and choose, incentives and disincentives for good behavior
7:22 The fairness protocol explained
8:50 Weve moved from dictators to institutions to self-enforcing systems to achieve fairness through a fairness protocol
9:18 Were using tools like digital signatures, hashes, zero knowledge proofs, to create games. Fairness protocol games
10:23 Its not about the monetary policy of 21 million bitcoin, or smart contract execution, or DApps, or blockchain improvements, its about delivering fairness, at scale, without intermediaries
11:18 Enforcement is included, by design, in fairness protocols
11:48 We have a pattern, a system, that allows fair outcomes without violence or an intermediary to enforce things
13:15 Examples of fairness protocol games in bitcoin, ethereum, lighting network, atomic swaps, smart contracts
14:15 Moneyed interests, do not see or value the fairness protocol, they want to make money
15:36 Stop applauding. They will abandon the fairness protocols they dont understand
16:31 They will try to reintroduce the aunt. Because thats what they know
18:32 Why do we need to build and maintain fairness protocols?
21:50 We built this system because other systems for achieving fairness have failed us. Repeatedly.
Andreas delivered this talk to a live audience (via Zoom) at the Latin American Bitcoin Conference 2020, better known as LABitConf in December 2020. This event and its organizers hail from Argentina, which is why Andreas specifically references Argentina and spanish-speaking countries in the talk. Andreas has participated in almost every LABitConf since 2013 with just a few exceptions. He enjoys talking with people from Latin America about bitcoin and open blockchains, because they already know why the world needs these technologies. They want to understand how to use them.
Related Videos:
Rules Without Rulers: https://youtu.be/gq-t7Ky6QmE
White Markets, Black Markets (LABitConf 2018 talk): https://youtu.be/ffmu6t7PtO0
Becoming a Bitcoin Educator (LABitConf fireside chat): https://youtu.be/0CLJdfMgKhI
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BECOME a Community Builder: https://patreon.com/aantonop
ENROLL in aantonops FREE Intro to Bitcoin & Open Blockchains Workshop or any of his other high-quality cryptocurrency related workshops: https://aantonop.io/takeaworkshop
***Learn More From Andreas’ Workshops, Books & Events**
Amazon & Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B00MVAG8Z8
Audible: https://www.audible.com/author/Andreas-M-Antonopoulos/B00MVAG8Z8
E-books & Merch: https://aantonop.io/shop
Patreon: https://patreon.com/aantonop
Website: https://aantonop.com
Workshops: https://aantonop.com/workshops
***Connect with Andreas on Socials***
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AndreasMAntonopoulos
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LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/aantonop/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/aantonop
Thanks for watching!
#bitcoin #fairnessprotocol #andreas")
