Top 10 Voices in Bitcoin

Charles Stack on September 17, 2021

I have been following Bitcoin and crypto for the past 5 years. I have spent the last 18 months in a COVID-induced deep dive. I have read all the Bitcoin books, bought some Bitcoin, listened to hundreds of hours of podcasts, mined some Bitcoin, downloaded and tested every Bitcoin/Lightning wallet, attended the Bitcoin 2021 Conference in person, created 5 Bitcoin/Lightning nodes, and launched a website – BitcoinForBillions.org. I have listened to hundreds of voices from toxic Bitcoin maximalists to extreme skeptics and everyone in between.

In order to help others along their Bitcoin discovery path, I thought providing a list of the most important voices I have encountered might be helpful. Twitter has generally become the focal point for most Bitcoin commentary, so in addition to name and role, I include each person’s Twitter address.

Andreas Antonopoulos @aantonop – Author 

Ben Perrin @BTCsessions – Podcaster

Peter McCormack @PeterMcCormack – Podcaster

Nathaniel Whittemore @nlw – Podcaster

Lyn Alden @LynAldenContact – Analyst

Will Clemente @WClementeIII – Analyst

Dylan LeClair @DylanLeClair – Analyst

Will Woo @woonomic – Analyst

Jack Mallers @jackmaIlers – CEO

Michael Saylor @michael_saylor – CEO

Bitcoin For Business Webinar

Charles Stack on April 15, 2020

High profile companies such as AT&T, Microsoft, USAA, Goldman Sachs, Expedia, and Burger King are beginning to experiment with Bitcoin. Find out why and learn how your company could benefit from launching a bitcoin pilot project this year at our free ‘Bitcoin for Business’ Webinar.

The Webinar will be presented by Charles Stack, a leading expert on emerging technologies. Throughout his career Stack has repeatedly identified, learned, leveraged, and navigated new emerging technologies to launch and grow successful businesses. From the earliest PC network to the first online retail business to web services Stack has shown the ability to identify and deploy emerging tech with low risk in highly profitable businesses and projects.  

“Bitcoin and other blockchain technologies will transform many aspects of your industry,” says Stack, “There are 2 huge risks with any emerging technology: first that your business will fall behind your competitors or get disrupted by new businesses, and second that your forays into an emerging technology will be a costly failure. We can help you minimize both those risks.”

At this Webinar you will learn:

  1. Bitcoin Basics
  2. Why the Bitcoin/Lightning Network changes the game
  3. Case Studies
  4. New Business Models Enabled by Bitcoin
  5. How to gently integrate Bitcoin into your business at low cost
  6. How to identify and minimize the key risks for your business
  7. Essential Best Practices
  8. Your next steps.

The 30 minute Webinar is scheduled for Tuesday, May 12, 2020, at 3:00 ET. Virtual doors open at 2:45 for virtual socializing.

REGISTER HERE

Lightning Network Books

Charles Stack on January 31, 2020

Books are generally a poor medium for emerging technologies. The book industry operates at a glacial pace compared to most emerging technologies. By the time a book is published, the contents are invariably dated and the technology has probably already emerged. Nonetheless, here are a few books, or book-like publications, that cover the Lightning Network.

Lightning Conference 2019

Charles Stack on January 31, 2020

Here are notes and links to recommended sessions from the first global lightning network conference held in Berlin October 19-20 2019. About 500 people attended. Here’s a review of the conference from Bitcoin Magazine.

Day One October 19 Main Stage Video, 8 hours. Day Two October 20 Main Stage Video, 8 hours. Much more digestible single-session versions, ~20-40 minutes each. 

Here are some specific sessions recommended for executives and managers.

Some interesting conference statistics from @fulmolightning:

  • 66,79% of paid tickets (45,97% of ticket revenue) paid via $BTC/LN 
  • 987 beers paid via LN
  • 700 coffees paid via LN
  • 164 cocktails paid via LN
  • 377 ice cream/hot chocolate transactions paid via LN

No word on whether there will be a 2020 conference. Follow @flashstarts or @lnconf for updates.

Bolt-a-Thon Virtual Lightning Conference

Charles Stack on January 31, 2020

Bolt-a-Thon Virtual Lightning Conference, 3-day online hackathon, December 6-8 2019. Here’s the YouTube Channel with recordings of many of the sessions. The first Bolt-A-Thon conference was held in April 2019. There are none currently scheduled for 2020.

Recommended sessions. Listed below are the top three hackathon winners with their timecodes. Though somewhat technical, they do provide an interesting range of possible lightning projects.

Litreon – 4:18; Lightning Search Ads – 17:11; SatsHunter – 1:04:23

Podcasts

Charles Stack on January 31, 2020

Podcasts are one of the best educational sources for information about the lightning network. there is something about podcasting and lightning that go particularly well together.

Lightning Network Videos

Charles Stack on January 31, 2020

While we have previously covered some video content from online courses, conferences, and websites generally this section features a short curated selection of educational videos intended to quickly explain the lightning network. Watch them all over lunch and you will be a lightning network corporate champion by afternoon.

Lightning Network Explained, 12:24, April 2019. Very clear explanations and lovely hand-drawn graphics. Uses our favorite bar tab analogy as the underlying metaphor. Includes an explanation of the concept of streaming money. Highly recommended. 

Bitcoin’s Lightning Network, Simply Explained! 5:33, Dec 2017. Basic clear simple explanation. Note: current implementations generally abstract open/closing channel complexity.

What is the Lightning Network?, 7:17, Nov 2018, Nate Martin, 99 Bitcoins. Good for why people are excited about lightning.

What is Lightning Network and how does it work?, 1:54, April 2018, Coindesk. The best explanation of the concept of payment channels.

Earn Bitcoin with Lightning Network Routing fees, Feb 2019, 8:25, Rene Pickhardt. Watch this if you want more on the topic of lightning network routing fees. The activity and fee data are outdated but the concepts are still relevant.

Bitcoin Q&A: Misconceptions about Lightning Network, 22:42, Feb 2018, Andreas Antonopoulos. Clears up some common misconceptions about the lightning network.

History of Lightning Network video

Charles Stack on November 18, 2018

A technical history of bitcoin developments leading up to the development of the Lightning Network from Christian Decker, Blockstream, c-lightning engineer. YouTube Video 50:48.

History of the Lightning Network, Christian Decker, November 18, 2018