Bitcoin and Beyond: An Interview with Max Hillebrand

Episode 43 of The Watchman Privacy Podcast – Bitcoin and Beyond: An Interview with Max Hillebrand

Gabriel Custodiet speaks with Max Hillebrand about the philosophy behind Bitcoin, as well as proper techniques for using it as it was intended. Along the way they discuss Monero, Max’s appreciation for German economist-philosopher Ludwig von Mises, and Max’s interest in Qubes OS. This conversation at times gets into the depths of Bitcoin, tackling the nature of UTXOs, Bitcoin taint, coin control, privacy holes in the Lightning Network, crossing borders with Bitcoin, and the Wasabi Wallet controversy.

Guest Links
→ https://twitter.com/HillebrandMax
→ https://towardsliberty.com (Max's website)
→ https://bitcoinops.org/en/newsletters
→ https://bitcoinaudible.com

Watchman Privacy
→ https://watchmanprivacy.com (newsletter, consultation requests)
→ https://twitter.com/watchmanprivacy
→ https://www.amazon.com/Watchman-Guide-Privacy-Financial-Lifestyle/dp/B08PX7KFS2

Bitcoin Privacy Course
→ https://rpf.gumroad.com/l/privatebitcoin

Monero Donation Address (If you can't see the whole string, double click in the middle to select all)
→8829DiYwJ344peEM7SzUspMtgUWKAjGJRHmu4Q6R8kEWMpafiXPPNBkeRBhNPK6sw27urqqMYTWWXZrsX6BLRrj7HiooPAy

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Timeline

0:00 – Beginning
7:27 – Why not use Monero?
10:14 – Underlying world view of Max Hillebrand
13:22 – How does Bitcoin solve the world’s problems?
16:03 – Naming the enemies of Bitcoin privacy
24:03 – Erasing Bitcoin taint
27:59 – What is a UTXO?
31:20 – How confident can we be in CoinJoin?
37:44 – How to accumulate large amounts of Bitcoin privately
41:57 – Lighting Network for privacy?
45:21 – Rapid fire digital privacy tools
52:04 – Max’s favorite Bitcoin resources
52:50 – Crossing borders with Bitcoin
56:46 – Wasabi Wallet controversy response by Max Hillebrand
1:04:39 – Gabriel thoughts on “aiding evil people with privacy”
1:11:17 – Final thoughts