Vitalik Buterin is the creator of Ethereum, but he's also a true Bitcoin maximalist. In this episode, Vitalik tells his story as a bitcoiner, explains why he built Ethereum, and makes use of his knowledge to predict the future of the two networks.

Time stamps:

Introducing Vitalik (00:01:00)

Vitalik's Early Involvement with Bitcoin (00:02:22)

Writing for Bitcoin Weekly (00:03:01)

Bitcoin's Early Fees and Transaction Model (00:06:45)

Evolving Understanding of Bitcoin (00:09:15)

Bitcoin Cash and the Scaling Debate (00:10:25)

Dark Wallet Project (00:14:06)

Coinjoin and Privacy Innovations (00:16:41)

Colored Coins and Bitcoin 2.0 (00:21:05)

Transition to Ethereum Development (00:21:58)

Current Layer Two Innovations (00:24:11)

Scaling and Privacy Innovations (00:25:55)

Ethereum's Early Criticism (00:27:05)

EVM's Role in Smart Contracts (00:28:11)

Challenges of Parallelization (00:29:23)

Sandboxing and Security (00:30:24)

Future Scaling Ideas (00:34:49)

Ethereum vs NXT vs Counterparty vs Omni/Mastercoin (00:35:37)

Lessons from Ethereum's Success (00:37:07)

The DAO Hack and Community Resilience (00:43:16)

Ethereum's Network Effect (00:45:43)

Ethereum's Ecosystem Resilience (00:49:35)

Decentralization vs. Scalability (00:50:41)

Critique of Ethereum Killers (00:51:21)

Layer One and Layer Two Dynamics (00:52:53)

SideShift (00:53:21)

How Vitalik Cancelled Craig Wright (00:54:51)

Current Characters in Bitcoin (00:58:03)

Daniel Kravisz's Views on Craig Wright (00:59:04)

Manipulative Tactics in Dating Advice (01:00:34)

NoOnes: Marketplace for Global South (01:01:19)

Bitcoin.com News Evolution (01:02:40)

Bitcoin Magazine is Now Pro Trump (01:04:37)

Libertarian Shifts in Crypto (01:05:03)

Ethereum Domain Name Registrations (01:06:09)

Layer Two Scaling Decision (01:08:08)

Hardware Requirements for Ethereum Node (01:10:45)

Philosophical Questions on Scaling (01:12:01)

The Dystopia Scenario (01:13:03)

Importance of Full Nodes (01:14:24)

Technological Innovations (01:15:27)

Running Full Nodes in Ethereum (01:16:30)

Privacy and RPC Trust (01:17:28)

Adapting Ethereum to New Cryptography (01:19:53)

Scaling Debate in Ethereum (01:22:04)

Respect for Ethereum's Approach (01:23:15)

Zcash and Ethereum Collaboration (01:25:00)

Challenges for Zcash (01:27:04)

Impact of Developer Actions (01:28:01)

Scaling Solutions in Bitcoin and Ethereum (01:30:43)

Defining Rollups vs. Sidechains (01:31:40)

Security Implications of Drivechains (01:34:03)

Transition to Proof of Stake (01:36:19)

ZK Coins and Shielded Client Side Validation (01:37:53)

Thoughts on TheStandard.io (01:40:03)

Backing Up Coins and Holding Keys (01:42:11)

Evolution of Multi-Sig Technology (01:46:43)

Privacy (01:48:14)

Concerns About Centralized Data Collection (01:51:10)

Impact of Snowden Revelations (01:53:35)

Privacy as a Key Aspect of Decentralization (01:55:49)

Ethereum's Cypherpunk Roots (01:57:07)

Feedback from Cypherpunks on Ethereum (02:00:42)

The Inspiration Behind DAOs (02:02:07)

AI and DAOs (02:02:40)

Vitalik’s Public Image and Price Pressure (02:02:55)

Media Attention and Its Impact (02:03:43)

Decentralization and Attention (02:04:03)

Price Influence and Market Dynamics (02:04:59)

Focus on Ethereum's Values (02:06:01)

Historical Use Cases of Ethereum (02:08:28)

Next Bull Market Narrative (02:09:38)

DeFi Ecosystem as a Proven Use Case (02:09:45)

Political Instability and Financial Security (02:12:05)

Polymarket, Prediction Markets and Mainstream Adoption (02:12:20)

Zero Knowledge Proofs and Privacy (02:14:20)

Roger Ver (02:15:23)

Principles of Freedom and Privacy (02:22:57)

Critique of Blockstream’s Liquid (02:24:00)

Bitcoin's Role in Decentralization (02:26:15)

Transition to RISC-V (02:27:37)

Adoption of RISC-V (02:28:36)

Redesigning Ethereum in A Time Travel Scenario (02:31:30)

Challenges in Ethereum's Development (02:32:45)

Ethereum and Bitcoin Relationship (02:37:02)

Complementarity of Bitcoin and Ethereum (02:38:40)

Does Vitalik Still Use Bitcoin? (02:41:21)

Lightning Network (02:42:06)

Standardization of LN Invoies (02:43:20)

Privacy Concerns with Bitcoin (02:45:42)

Running Lightning Nodes (02:46:52)

Home-Based Bitcoin Solutions (02:48:12)

Tribalism in Crypto Communities (02:48:53)

Ethereum's Evolution and Ideals (02:50:06)

Collaboration Between Bitcoin and Ethereum (02:51:10)

Diverse Blockchain Future (02:51:45)

Is Vitalik a Bitcoin Maximalist? (02:52:59)

Community Values and Challenges (02:53:45)

Cultural Dynamics in Cryptocurrencies (02:56:05)

Layer Two Solutions for Bitcoin (02:59:31)

Vitalik's Online Presence (03:00:25)

Closing Remarks and Future Guests (03:01:36)