Stephan Livera Podcast

Lightning Labs built Wavelength to deliver self-custodial Lightning payments without forcing users to run nodes, manage channels, or handle liquidity.
Olaoluwa Osuntokun, CTO and co-founder of Lightning Labs, and Michael Levin, VP of Product, join me to detail the design choices behind their Ark implementation.
They explain why Ark was selected, how hop hints let every payment use ordinary Lightning invoices, and why the four-endpoint SDK targets AI agents and vibe coders. The conversation covers sub-dust vouchers, unilateral exits, offline payment delivery, and one-basis-point alpha pricing.
Wavelength shows that self-custodial Lightning can match the integration ease of custodial services while preserving Bitcoin sovereignty.
Timestamps
01:28 — Why Wavelength: Lightning Without Node Pain
03:00 — Why Ark? 
05:28 — No New Addresses: Just Lightning Invoices
08:40 — Targeting Vibe Coders & AI Agents
13:06 — Lightning Beats Credit for LLM APIs
17:51 — Receive Sub-1k Sat Vouchers Seamlessly
19:32 — Normal User Spins Up Ark Wallet Fast
23:02 — Build Wallets with Just 4 Endpoints
24:46 — Telegram Self-Custodial Wallets Already Live
26:21 — Offline Payments Still Arrive Automatically
29:17 — Drop-In SDK for iOS and Android
31:26 — Can Servers Steal Your Funds?
33:36 — Wavelength Alpha: Just 1 Bip Fees
37:57 — AI Attacks Targeting Bitcoin Services?
44:05 — Bug Bounties Shift to Token Spending
48:36 — Self-Custody as Easy as Custodial
Links: 
https://x.com/roasbee

https://x.com/MichaelLevin

Wavelength Announcement: https://x.com/lightning/status/2079620936567779707

Stephan Livera links:
Follow me on X: @stephanlivera

Subscribe to the podcast

Subscribe to Substack

Old self-custody approaches collapse once Bitcoin reaches six figures, physical threats rise, and AI tools proliferate. Single hardware wallets and mattress myths no longer match the scale or risks that large holders now face.
Michael Tanguma, CEO and co-founder of Onramp, returns to examine how custody must adapt to family obligations, mortality, and market structure that turns concentrated holdings into targets.
The discussion covers why repeated exchange failures keep Bitcoin looking speculative to outsiders, how multi-institution setups reduce scam ROI, and the limits of adding more dice or vendors in an AI era. It also addresses custody pricing models and the practical question of whether any current setup survives a tenfold price increase.
Game theory now requires diversified institutional layers rather than pure self-reliance for serious stacks.
Timestamp:
03:43 — Bitcoin Custody Won't Work Like 2012
05:49 — Self-Custody Rules Changed With Your Life
07:19 — Why Bitcoiners Must Stop the Mattress Myth
09:01 — Bitcoin's Asset Layer Makes It Unstoppable
11:22 — Private Keys Are Like Firearms
15:40 — Custody Losses Keep Bitcoin Speculative
18:56 — AI Just Changed Self-Custody Forever
21:41 — Why Bitcoin Robberies Are Skyrocketing
25:41 — Multi-Institution Custody Kills Pig Butchering
27:57 — Bitcoin at $650K: Security Nightmare?
29:30 — Game Theory Demands Multi-Custody Bitcoin
32:03 — Centralized Custody: The Honeypot Risk
37:56 — Why Custody Fees Should Be Zero
39:51 — Full Bitcoin Custody for $100/Month
42:51 — Would Your Setup Survive 10x Bitcoin?
Links:
https://x.com/mtanguma

https://x.com/OnrampBitcoin

Stephan Livera links:
Follow me on X: @stephanlivera

Subscribe to the podcast

Subscribe to Substack

#Bitcoin #SelfCustody #Custody #OnrampBitcoin #StephanLivera #StephanLiveraPodcast #BitcoinSecurity #MultiSig

Roy Sheinfeld of Breez returns to walk through Glow, the team's new reference wallet built using Spark. It’s designed so non-custodial Bitcoin feels simple: send, receive, and go.
Glow uses passkey onboarding (no seed phrase to write down), automatic backup via the passkey provider, and a single-balance UX so users can pay Lightning, on-chain, and stablecoin destinations without wrestling settings.
They also cover client-side swaps (Flashnet, multi-vendor architecture after Boltz), AI-driven attacks on swap providers, where Lightning volume actually comes from, Spark unilateral exits, and how AI plus the Breez SDK lets non-developers ship Bitcoin apps from a prompt.
Timestamps
04:21 — Bitcoin Wallet Onboard with One Passkey
08:05 — Stables on Lightning: Overhyped?
09:59 — Swaps Needed Even With Lightning Stables
11:48 — AI Attacks: Cheaper to Attack Than Defend
15:07 — Why Small Teams Get Hacked First
17:15 — Swaps Going Private to Survive?
19:17 — Backends Drive Most Lightning Volume
21:32 — 80/20 Rule: B2B Drives Lightning Volume
25:13 — Making Unilateral Exit Economically Viable
29:48 — Spark Public Mode
31:38 — One Prompt Builds a Bitcoin App
33:13 — Non-Technical Users Now Ship Bitcoin Apps
Links: 
https://x.com/roy_breez

https://x.com/breez_tech

https://breez.technology/glow/

Stephan Livera links:
Follow me on X: @stephanlivera

Subscribe to the podcast

Subscribe to Substack

In this episode, Nick Neuman of Casa argues that it’s not the end of self-custody. Instead, it highlights why multisig with multiple vendors provides stronger protection without the hidden complexity of passphrases or dice rolling for single sig setups.
Timestamps:
03:12 — Not the End of Self-Custody
06:14 — Single Sig Is Actually More Complex
08:45 — Multisig Simpler Than Secure Single Sig
15:37 — $1K Single Sig, $10K Multisig?
17:32 — Casa's $250 2-of-3 Multisig Plan
20:01 — Private Clients Get Dedicated Advisors
22:21 — Bitkey vs Casa
27:36 — Going Closed Source Versus AI Attacks
30:23 — AI Code Audits Now Cost $1K
33:04 — Auto-Rejecting Unknown Callers Saves You
34:35 — Guardian Mode Requires Video Verification
Links: 
https://x.com/Nneuman

https://x.com/CasaHODL

https://casa.io/

Stephan Livera links:
Follow me on X: @stephanlivera

Subscribe to the podcast

Subscribe to Substack

Kruw (@kruwed) runs one of the highest-volume WabiSabi coordinators, giving him direct insight into how the protocol handles liquidity, Sybil resistance, and real-world usage.
Timestamps:
00:42 — Wasabi 2.8 Privacy Features 
02:45 — Taproot As Wasabi's Default Address
07:25 — Pay Inside CoinJoin Saves 40 Minutes
10:26 — Auto CoinJoin 
12:21 — WabiSabi Blocks Whale Sybil Attacks
14:31 — Payjoins
16:37 — ClusterMempool Wins for CoinJoins
20:00 — Upcoming forks
21:14 — CoinJoin: Free Replay Protection Hack
22:53 — CoinJoin Ban Myth Debunked
25:41 — Black Hole: Earn While Mixing
Links: 
https://x.com/wasabiwallet

https://x.com/Kruwed

https://wasabiwallet.io/

Stephan Livera links:
Follow me on X: @stephanlivera

Subscribe to the podcast

Subscribe to Substack