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
2025-02-04

S16 E6: Super Testnet on Monero vs Lightning Network Privacy

Bitcoin developer Super Testnet argues that the Lightning Network is mor…
2025-01-30

S15 E5: Reuben Yap on Firo & ZK Privacy

Reuben Yap is one of the co-founders of Firo (previously Zcoin): an impl…
2025-01-16

S16 E4: John Light on ZK Tech to Scale Bitcoin & Make It Private

John Light is a researcher who specializes in bringing Zero Knowledge cr…
2025-01-14

S16 E3: Charlie Shrem & John Gotts on Digital Gold (DGD)

Bitcoin OG Charlie Shrem is now the chief evangelist of a project called…
2025-01-09

S16 E2: Liam Eagen on Crypto(graphy) Research & Innovation

Time stamps: Introducing Liam (00:00:25) Shielded Client-Side Validation…
2025-01-03

S16 E1: Mike Belshe on BitGo, Self Custody & The Future of Bitcoin

Mike Belshe is the co-founder and CEO of BitGo. As a Bitcoin and interne…
2024-12-31

S15 E71: Amir Taaki on Bitcoin & DarkFi

Time stamps: Introducing Amir (00:00:47) Reflections on Bitcoin Privacy …
2024-12-19

S15 E70: Jeff Garzik on Hemi & Bitcoin Development

Time Stamps: Jeff Garzik’s Contributions (00:00:47) Overview of Hemi (00…
2024-12-17

S15 E69: Zach Herbert on Passport Prime by Foundation Devices

Time stamps: Announcing the New Passport Prime (00:01:49) Competitive La…
2024-12-09

S15 E68: Paul Sztorc on Activating Drivechains via CUSF (Core Untouched …

Time stamps: Introducing Paul… again! (00:00:46) Core Untouched Soft Wor…
2024-11-28

S15 E67: Rocelo Lopes on Self Custody, Tether Truth & Generational Bitco…

Time stamps: Welcome to the Gymcast! (00:00:51) Rocelo's Introduction (0…
2024-11-20

S15 E66: Jameson Lopp on Michael Saylor, Bitcoin Ossification & Paranoid…

Time stamps: Introduction (00:00:56) Michael Saylor & Paranoid Crypto An…
2024-11-13

S15 E65: Bitcoin Covenants Without Soft Forks with Avihu M. Levy of Star…

The recent ColliderScript research paper is a game changer: it enables B…
2024-11-07

S15 E64: David A. Johnston on Bitcoin 2.0 & Decentralized AI

Time stamps: Introducing David A. Johnston (00:00:51) David's Bitcoin Jo…
2024-11-02

S15 E63: David Bailey on Bitcoin & Trump

Time stamps: Introduction (00:00:47) David's Background and Media Intere…
2024-11-01

S15 E62: Josh Swihart & Kris Nuttycombe on Zcash & Privacy

Time stamps: Introducting Josh & Chris (00:00:50) Criticism of Zcash (00…
2024-10-28

S15 E61: Polto & Darko on Self Custody Pro Tips

Time stamps: Introducing Polto & Darko (00:00:50) Top Hardware Wallets (…
2024-10-16

S15 E60: Andrey Sabelnikov & Pavel Nikienkov on Zano & Privacy

Andrey Sabelnikov has a history with the CryptoNote protocol, and even w…
2024-10-14

S15 E59: David Burkett on MWEB & Privacy

MWEB (MimbleWimble Extension Block) is a way to add privacy & extra scal…
2024-10-10

S15 E58: Liam Eagen, Robin Linus & Jonas Nick on Shielded Client Side Va…

Liam Eagen (Alpen Labs), Robin Linus (Zero Sync, BitVM) & Jonas Nick (Bl…
2024-10-04

S15 E57: Orkun Kilic on Citrea, ZK Rollups & Building the Bitcoin Econom…

Just a few days after launching the Citrea testnet, Orkun Kilic joins th…
2024-09-27

S15 E56: Prof. Richard Werner on Bitcoin, CBDCs & Banking

Prof. Richard Werner is best known for proposing quantitative easing whi…
2024-09-21

S15 E55: Jake Yokom-Piatt & Phoenix Green on Bitcoin, Decred & Privacy

Decred is one of the oldest & most respectable altcoin projects around, …
2024-09-14

S15 E54: Kruw on Bitcoin Privacy, Blockchain Analysis & Wasabi Wallet

Kruw runs the most successful Wasabi wallet 2.0 coordinator and is the k…