My guest today is Lea Petrasova, co-founder and CEO of Vexl, a peer-to-peer bitcoin app that lets people exchange bitcoin privately, without identification (KYC) or any middlemen. Lea is a prominent voice in the European cypherpunk community, dedicated to privacy, digital freedom, and restoring bitcoin’s original peer-to-peer design. We discuss why identity-linked bitcoin undermines true self-custody, how tightening cash controls and app-store censorship accelerate financial surveillance, and why Vexl chose to remain open-source and non-profit. Lea explains Vexl’s reputation-based trust model, the real risks of “dirty fiat,” and the growing global push toward CBDCs and digital IDs. We also explore how Vexl is evolving into a local marketplace for everything from food to services to hardware, showing how private, person-to-person exchange can quietly rebuild resilient, grassroots economies.→ Please like, comment, share & follow - to help me beat the suppressing big tech algorithms & gov. censorship. Thank you!-- SPONSORS --→ Get your TREZOR wallet & accessories, with a 5% discount, using my code at checkout (get my discount code from the episode - yep, you’ll have to watch it): https://affil.trezor.io/SHU → Have you tried mining bitcoin? Stack sats directly to your wallet while saving on taxes with Abundant Mines: https://AbundantMines.com/Efrat – AFFILIATES –→ Get 10% off on Augmented NAC to detox Spike protein, with the code YCXKQDK2 via this link: https://store.augmentednac.com/?via=efrat (Note, this is not medical advice and you should consult your MD)→ Be good to your eyes & health, and get the Daylight tablet - a healthier, more human-friendly computer, with zero flicker and zero blue light, by design. Thank me later ;-) https://bit.ly/Efrat_daylight → Get a second citizenship and a plan B to relocate to another country with Expat Money, leave your details for a follow up: https://expatmoney.com/efrat → Watch “New Totalitarian Order” conference with Prof. Mattias Desmet & Efrat - code EFRAT for 10% off: https://efenigson.gumroad.com/l/desmet_efrat → Join me in any of these upcoming events: https://www.efrat.blog/p/upcoming-events -- LINKS –Lea’s Twitter: https://x.com/LeaPetras Vexl’s Twitter: https://x.com/vexl Vexl’s Website: https://vexl.it/ Efrat's Twitter: https://twitter.com/efenigsonEfrat's Channels: https://linktr.ee/efenigsonWatch/listen on all platforms: https://linktr.ee/yourethevoiceSupport Efrat's work: ⁠https://bit.ly/zap_efrat -- CHAPTERS –00:00 Coming Up…01:23 Introduction to Lea05:58 Leah's Journey: From Academia to Bitcoin09:08 The Birth of Vexl12:33 Ad Break: Trezor & Abundant Mines15:28 The Problem Vexl is Solving - Purchasing Bitcoin As Intended23:08 Vexl Locality & Reputation’s Model31:56 Ensuring User Safety & Bad Actor33:48 The 1984 Apple Campaign Hypocrisy on Privacy37:08 Launching The Freedom Store40:08 Privacy In Today’s Surveillance Reality43:58 Privacy in Bitcoin47:00 Balancing Trust & Usability in Privacy Tools54:00 Sustaining Open Source Projects, via Grants55:20 What Keeps Lea Motivated?