Bitcoin Takeover Podcast

Bitcoin Takeover Podcast

Bitcoin Takeover is the oral history of Bitcoin, told by the people who made it and those still fighting over what it becomes. Since 2019, host Vlad Costea has recorded long, unscripted conversations with the builders, pioneers, heretics, and occasional villains of the Bitcoin world. The man who ran Mt. Gox explains how the coins actually disappeared. A founder under federal indictment makes his case. Satoshi's first collaborator remembers what 2009 was really like. And the researchers behind zero knowledge proofs, covenants, sidechains, and the Lightning Network argue about what comes next. Past guests include Vitalik Buterin, Phil Zimmermann, Zooko, Adam Back, Mark Karpelès, Roger Ver, Martti Malmi, Charlie Shrem, and hundreds of developers, entrepreneurs, and troublemakers whose work shaped the world's first decentralized money. This is not a show about price predictions or recycled talking points. It is about the technology, the history, the scandals, and the ideas that will decide Bitcoin's future. Seven years and 350+ episodes, with one rule that never changed: the guest did something notable, and the host did the reading. Time to learn!

356 episodes Bitcoin Takeover Podcast Updated 2026-08-15
356 episodes in Bitcoin Takeover Podcast
2025-11-01

S16 E54: Slava Zhygulin & Ros on Stroom Network, Bitcoin Staking

The Stroom Network presents an interesting proposition: staking your bit…
2025-10-27

S16 E53: Xenu on Bitcoin Culture & Moreno vs Zcash

Xenu is the anti-moonboy: someone who is deeply dedicated to promoting d…
2025-10-24

S16 E52: Paul Sztorc on Bitcoin's Culture Wars

While the Bitcoin Core v30 vs Knots debate went on, Paul Sztorc was hard…
2025-10-18

S16 E51: Sean Bowe on Bitcoin, Zcash & Scaling Privacy with Tachyon

Sean Bowe is a cryptographer and engineer who is best known for revoluti…
2025-10-13

S16 E50: Ray Youssef on Why Paxful's Terminated

On October 1st 2025, Paxful announced the decision to "wind down operati…
2025-10-10

S16 E49: Jay Berg on Bitcoin, SidePit & Maximalism

Jay Berg joined Bitcoin in 2010 and became the first person to tweet abo…
2025-10-07

S16 E48: Christopher Smith on Quantus, Bitcoin & Quantum Resistance

Christopher Smith (aka Yuvi Lightman, aka Ganesha 1024) is the founder o…
2025-10-03

S16 E47: Max Hillebrand on White Noise & Private Messaging on Nostr

Max Hillebrand makes his 8th appearance on the Bitcoin Takeover Podcast …
2025-09-30

S16 E46: Val Venis on Bitcoin, Liberty & Wrestling

Back in 2013, former WWE Intercontinental Champion Val Venis bought 24 b…
2025-09-25

S16 E45: Shai Wyborski on Bitcoin, Kaspa & Proof of Work Research

Shai Wyborski is one of the three co-authors of the GHOSTDAG paper, and …
2025-09-17

S16 E44: Abdel on ZK STARKs & Bitcoin Maximalism

Abdel is a Starkware engineer who, over the last 7 years, went from buil…
2025-09-12

S16 E43: Vikrant Sharma on Cake Wallet, Bitcoin & Privacy

Vikrant Sharma, better known as Vik, is the CEO and founder of Cake Wall…
2025-09-09

S16 E42: Michael Tidwell on Bitcoin Drama & Tabconf

Michael Tidwell is the organizer of Tabconf, the longest running Bitcoin…
2025-08-29

S16 E41: Yonatan Sompolinsky on Bitcoin, Kaspa & Proof of Work

Yonatan Sompolinsky is an academic in the field of computer science, bes…
2025-08-22

S16 E40: Cory Klippsten on Bitcoin Culture & Maximalism

Cory Klippsten is the CEO of Swan Bitcoin and has a long history in both…
2025-08-18

S16 E39: Karl Kreder (Dr. K) on Scaling Proof of Work, Bitcoin & Quai

Karl Kreder, better known as Dr. K, is best known in the space for resea…
2025-08-12

S16 E38: Bitcoin Payments in 2025 with Sergej Kotliar & Matt Ahlborg

Sergej Kotliar is the CEO of Bitrefill, while Matt Ahlborg recently crea…
2025-08-06

S16 E37: Andrew Poelstra on Simplicity, Bitcoin Smart Contracts & Upgrad…

Simplicity, a scripting language so simple that it can fit on a t-shirt,…
2025-08-02

S16 E36: Maud Bannwart & Cheng Wang on Alephium, Proof of Less Work & Bi…

Alephium is one of the most interesting Proof of Work projects, which ai…
2025-07-24

S16 E35: Hunter Beast on Bitcoin's Quantum Resistance & BIP 360

Hunter Beast is the author of BIP 360: a proposal that seeks to provide …
2025-07-20

S16 E34: Prof. Richard Werner on Bitcoin, CBDCs & The Big Beautiful Bill

Prof. Richard Werner, one of the world's most famous economists, is best…
2025-07-09

S16 E33: Liz Steininger on Least Authority & Auditing Open Source Softwa…

Liz Steininger is the CEO of Least Authority: a company which specialize…
2025-07-03

S16 E32: Bitcoin vs Monero vs Zcash Privacy with Diego Salazar & Luke Sz…

Diego Salazar & Luke Szramowski are working to build Cypher Space: a pri…
2025-06-27

S16 E31: Andrew Camilleri ”Kukks” on Ark, BTCPay Server & Open Source Bi…

Andrew Camilleri, better known as Kukks, is one of the most prolific con…