I feel like my mind just starts wandering and I have to get back and re-read some sections.
It’s easier for me to stay focused if I’m really mentally engaged, like when reading technical papers. With novels it’s harder and I find it a shame because I’m sure there’s a lot I’m missing out on
I have somewhat the opposite problem. I focus quite well on stories, but my mind is very prone to wandering when I read technical things. Often the wandering is fruitful, but its not always what is needed.
Very saturated market and issues accessing capital to keep developing the product.
As a company it doesn’t make sense to keep going right now, unfortunately. The project is open source and I have a bunch of boards in my garage that I’d be happy to give out to whoever would like to pick it up. So far there hasn’t been much interest though
I don’t think the threat is that close, and I do think we will get new cryptography. We are already getting lots of progress, and I think it’s worth waiting to really push the tech as far as possible, again considering the threat is not that close in my opinion
I’m not sure, I think bitcoin isn’t that new anymore. Pretty much everybody has been exposed to it and has made a choice, either to use it or to ignore it.
It’s much harder to turn opinions around than just exposing bitcoin to new people. So I think something needs to happen for adoption to start picking back up, not sure what
I worry that people don't really want what Bitcoin has to offer. They want credit cards and bank accounts that are easier to use, not money that without third parties.
No worries! Thanks for taking the time to come by!
Is there an advantage to running an ecash mint in an enclave?
Would it be possible to make such an ecash mint autonomous? (This is probably a pipe dream of mine, but the idea of a mint running on its own where users could audit it and verify that it will only do what it says it will do seems pretty cool)
Yes, the main advantage is that it would allow the operator to prove it doesn’t control the keys keeping the deposited funds. It’s only the code controlling them.
I don’t know if we can make entirely autonomous mints just because they would be un-upgradable unless we come up with some consensus system to approve upgrades.
What Bitcoin projects (other than your own) are most exciting?
I’ve gotta admit I haven’t really been keeping up with the latest developments so I’m sure I’m missing something.
I’m still probably the most excited about taproot lightning channels, they unlock so many cool things to be done on top of channels
i've been enjoying a lot of cyberpunk books like Neuromancer and Snow Crash. Do you have a favorite cyberpunk story?
I unfortunately don’t really enjoy reading, I get distracted quite easily.
Would you recommend the two you mentioned? I can try them next
I certainly would! Snow Crash is probably the more fun of the two.
What usually distracts you?
I feel like my mind just starts wandering and I have to get back and re-read some sections.
It’s easier for me to stay focused if I’m really mentally engaged, like when reading technical papers. With novels it’s harder and I find it a shame because I’m sure there’s a lot I’m missing out on
I have somewhat the opposite problem. I focus quite well on stories, but my mind is very prone to wandering when I read technical things. Often the wandering is fruitful, but its not always what is needed.
Did you enjoy reading as a kid?
Yes. I did. Which is strange because my parents weren't too interested in it (it's not like I saw them sitting around reading very much).
Interesting, it was kind of the opposite for me. School was forcing me to read books and I was doing it without enjoying a minute of it
What mad you stop building hardware? Will you go back to it?
Very saturated market and issues accessing capital to keep developing the product.
As a company it doesn’t make sense to keep going right now, unfortunately. The project is open source and I have a bunch of boards in my garage that I’d be happy to give out to whoever would like to pick it up. So far there hasn’t been much interest though
I feel like Italy has a surprising number of bitcoiners. I've met more bitcoiners from Italy than anywhere else it feels like.
Do you think Italians are especially susceptible to bitcoin? If so, why might they be?
What do you think about quantum and Bitcoin? Will we need new cryptography in the next two or three years? Will we get new cryptography?
I don’t think the threat is that close, and I do think we will get new cryptography. We are already getting lots of progress, and I think it’s worth waiting to really push the tech as far as possible, again considering the threat is not that close in my opinion
what do you think of bip110? how do you see the next two or three months playing out?
I think it’s completely insane and it’s never gonna activate
How concerned are you by the state of privacy in Bitcoin?
Mildly concerned, I think tools like lightning help mitigate privacy issues. But I’m always happy to see progress and research being made in the field
My feeling is that the treasury companies sucked all the momentum out of bitcoin.
Do you feel like Bitcoin adoption is increasing?
Retail adoption no, it might even be decreasing. Not just now, even during the bull cycle
Do you think that trend will turn around? What might lead to a renewed interest in Bitcoin?
I’m not sure, I think bitcoin isn’t that new anymore. Pretty much everybody has been exposed to it and has made a choice, either to use it or to ignore it.
It’s much harder to turn opinions around than just exposing bitcoin to new people. So I think something needs to happen for adoption to start picking back up, not sure what
I worry that people don't really want what Bitcoin has to offer. They want credit cards and bank accounts that are easier to use, not money that without third parties.
I mean why wouldn’t they? In the west we have great banking, and the risk of being deplatformed, right now, is tiny.
Unbanked countries are adopting stables rather than bitcoin.
There isn’t much PMF (at least from a payments perspective) for bitcoin
Who are Enclavia's target customers?
Initially bitcoin companies, I think they feel the pain of lacking secure cloud the most.
With Enclavia they can offer better services with less trust assumptions to their customers. It’s a win-win
Are you familiar with lexe wallet? My understanding is that they spin up a LN node for users in something like a TEE.
Yes that’s a really cool application of enclaves! I’m trying to make them more accessible so that more bitcoin companies can integrate them
what is your favorite freedom tech (aside from Bitcoin)?
Not sure if that counts, cryptography in general is the secret sauce behind everything
Who's your favorite cryptographer?
Great question, I don’t think I have one. I guess I haven’t spent enough time studying it.
I remember watching some lectures from Dan Boneh, really enjoyed them although I didn’t understand 100% of them
What's the hardest part of starting a company with a product aimed primarily at bitcoiners?
Very very tiny market. Everything needs to be open source. Everybody wants to self-host / recreate every component out of paranoia
If you had to pick one, which would you use:
Personally probably ecash just because I’ve spent some time understanding it and I don’t like to use things I don’t understand.
Not saying spark or ark are worse, I just haven’t looked into them too much
What was the biggest challenge with building your hardware signer project?
Mostly coming up with tricks to power the device just via NFC and making it play nice with iOS which enforces very short timeouts
No worries! Thanks for taking the time to come by!
Is there an advantage to running an ecash mint in an enclave?
Would it be possible to make such an ecash mint autonomous? (This is probably a pipe dream of mine, but the idea of a mint running on its own where users could audit it and verify that it will only do what it says it will do seems pretty cool)
Yes, the main advantage is that it would allow the operator to prove it doesn’t control the keys keeping the deposited funds. It’s only the code controlling them.
I don’t know if we can make entirely autonomous mints just because they would be un-upgradable unless we come up with some consensus system to approve upgrades.
but it would still be a massive upgrade
If you couldn't program in rust, which language would you program in?
Welcome.
<3
What the most surprising thing you've learned building on TEEs?