In this episode of the Hell Money Podcast, we’re joined by economist and Bitcoin thinker Paul Sztorc (@Truthcoin) for a whirlwind tour through the foundations of economic thought and why Bitcoin should be every economist’s favorite subject.We explore:- Paul’s background: how he found Bitcoin and why he stayed- Core economic frameworks and what most people get wrong- The compatibility (and incompatibility) of Bitcoin with academic economics- The role of timing in the spread of ideasFOLLOW PAUL: https://x.com/TruthcoinGet bonus content by subscribing to @hellmoneypod on X: https://x.com/hellmoneypod/creator-subscriptions/subscribeOr support the podcast by sending a BTC donation: bc1qztncp7lmcxdgude4px2vzh72p2yu2aud0eyzys ORDINALS PROTOCOL SHIRT: https://shop.inscribing.com/products/ordinals-protocol-shirtTIMESTAMPS0:00 Intro5:28 Paul Sztorc origin story12:20 Economic theories37:45 Bitcoin and economics53:10 Timing of ideas
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Adam Krellenstein Returns: Counterparty’s Comeback & Bitcoin’s Soul Search
In this episode of the Hell Money Podcast, we sit down with Adam Krellenstein — Counterparty’s co‑founder and longtime lead maintainer — for a tour of Bitcoin’s formative years and the ideas shaping its future. Adam revisits the birth of XCP, explains why he walked away a decade ago, and describes what dragged him back into the codebase. Along the way we tackle the perennial question: What is Bitcoin for? Is embedding data on‑chain an evolutionary feature or a contagion best off‑loaded to sidechains? And if you aren't buying your daily coffee with BTC, has Satoshi’s dream failed, or merely evolved?We explore:- Counterparty’s origin story- Early Bitcoin dev culture- OP_RETURN drama, Blockstream’s sidechain vision & the data‑bloat dilemma- Whether Bitcoin is prepared for sophisticated political actors- Counterparty culture & NFTs- Adam’s decade‑long hiatus: burnout, philosophy of nature & why he’s back- What's next for BitcoinFOLLOW ADAM: https://x.com/agkrellensteinGet bonus content by subscribing to @hellmoneypod on X: https://x.com/hellmoneypod/creator-subscriptions/subscribeOr support the podcast by sending a BTC donation: bc1qztncp7lmcxdgude4px2vzh72p2yu2aud0eyzys ORDINALS PROTOCOL SHIRT: https://shop.inscribing.com/products/ordinals-protocol-shirtTIMESTAMPS0:00 The beginning of Counterparty17:30 Worse is better development24:15 Early Bitcoin dev culture32:05 OP_RETURN & Bitcoin core devs38:05 Blockstream & sidechains, storing data on Bitcoin45:15 Bitcoin is unprepared for sophisticated political actors54:55 Counterparty culture & NFTs1:00:30 Adam's departure from Counterparty1:08:00 Philosophy of Nature1:19:00 Returning to open source development1:36:00 What's next for Bitcoin?
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Bitcoin Core Dev Walks Away… to Battle The Great Firewall of China (with Carl Dong)
We sat down with Carl Dong — former Bitcoin Core contributor, now founder of Obscura VPN focused on real-world censorship resistance.In this episode, we dive into:- Why Carl walked away from Bitcoin Core development to tackle privacy head-on- What sets Obscura apart from other VPNs- Lessons from the Great Firewall and routing traffic through hostile networks- Chinese numerology- Carl & Casey's long and storied shared historyFOLLOW CARL: https://x.com/carl_dongGet bonus content by subscribing to @hellmoneypod on X: https://x.com/hellmoneypod/creator-subscriptions/subscribeOr support the podcast by sending a BTC donation: bc1qztncp7lmcxdgude4px2vzh72p2yu2aud0eyzys ORDINALS PROTOCOL SHIRT: https://shop.inscribing.com/products/ordinals-protocol-shirtTIMESTAMPS:0:00 Intro & Carl's journey to Bitcoin development11:59 Hard problems in Bitcoin16:00 Binaries, compliers, and reproducible builds37:30 Transitioning from Bitcoin core to working on Obscura VPN1:05:00 Advice for current Bitcoin core contributors1:10:00 Ordinals numerology1:39:00 Outro
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The Whitelist Grind is OVER: How Signals.art is Fixing NFT Launches (with Nick Sainato)
While Bitcoin 2025 and Inscribing Vegas lit up the Strip, we camped out with a mic and grabbed the builders behind the biggest moves in Ordinals. Episode #1 from Sin City features Nick Sainato —Gamma Co‑Founder, now debuting Signals.art, the platform out to kill the NFT whitelist grind and give everyone a social credit score.We dive into:- Whitelist grind culture & inefficiencies in the market- Price discovery and go-to-market strategies for NFTs- Signals.art walkthrough- Early Ordinals lore & Nick's origin storyFOLLOW NICK: https://x.com/nicksainatoFOLLOW SIGNALS: https://x.com/signalsartCLAIM 300 BARS ON SIGNALS.ART WITH CODE "#HMP": https://signals.art/Get bonus content by subscribing to @hellmoneypod on X: https://x.com/hellmoneypod/creator-subscriptions/subscribeOr support the podcast by sending a BTC donation: bc1qztncp7lmcxdgude4px2vzh72p2yu2aud0eyzys ORDINALS PROTOCOL SHIRT: https://shop.inscribing.com/products/ordinals-protocol-shirtTIMESTAMPS:0:00 Intro & Inscribing Vegas review8:55 Signals.art & where we're at in the market14:00 Fixing the whitelist grind18:30 What is Signals?29:00 Clearing price auction price discovery38:10 Signals is chain-agnostic41:00 Pricing psychology52:00 Mint behavior59:00 Signals walkthrough1:08:15 Nick Sainato origin story1:18:15 Early Ordinals lore1:25:50 Outro
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BITCOIN CORE IS COMPROMISED! Meanwhile the Ordinals empire expands 🔥
On this episode of Hell Money, we’re locking in on final updates before we take over Las Vegas, Nevada. We’re auctioning the first piece from FUN!, the debut collection by Casey Rodarmor and Parker Day, and showing why Bitcoin-native auction tech beats the grift of legacy art houses.We explore:- Why Sotheby’s and Christie’s can’t compete with Bitcoin builders- Launching Megalith.art, the first Ordinals + Bitcoin-native auction platform- The debut piece from FUN! by Casey + Parker- How to use Ordinals Satscards for in-person trading of inscriptions, runes, and more- The OP_RETURN drama: Bitcoin podcasters vs. Bitcoin Core devsGet bonus content by subscribing to @hellmoneypod on X: https://x.com/hellmoneypod/creator-subscriptions/subscribeOr support the podcast by sending a BTC donation: bc1qztncp7lmcxdgude4px2vzh72p2yu2aud0eyzys 10% OFF INSCRIBING VEGAS: https://pretix.eu/inscribing/vegas/redeem?voucher=HELLMONEY10% OFF BITCOIN 2025: https://tickets.b.tc/code/inscribing/event/bitcoin-2025ORDINALS PROTOCOL SHIRT: https://shop.inscribing.com/products/ordinals-protocol-shirtTIMESTAMPS:0:00 Intro and Inscribing Vegas9:12 Megalith.art auction of FUN!27:50 Ordinals Satscards32:00 Ordinals Satscard tutorial42:15 OP_RETURN drama57:00 Outro