Getting Security Through Privacy

“You can get security in two ways in this world: through power or through privacy.”

Obi Nwosu, co-founder of Fedi - the largest application layer built on top of e-cash protocol Fedimint - joins me on the show to discuss its role in protecting what he argues is the single most important feature of digital money: Privacy.

Self-custody alone, he argues, “is not enough” for protection against attacks by those with resources and physical power — e.g. governments or anyone able to execute force against you.

While the most privileged democratic societies have remained relatively safe from government seizure in recent history - this could change at any moment - as financial surveillance and resulting censorship of political expression is gaining steam.

Of course, for the world’s most vulnerable users of money — those living under the reign of authoritarian governments or other non-democratic principalities — censorship, seizure and political and financial oppression are regular threats rendering privacy critical for survival.

In this episode, Obi and I cover:

-Bitcoin’s cypherpunk roots and the vision of private e-cash mints on top of Bitcoin, nearly from day 1

-Why privacy and security go hand-in-hand - and why security without privacy is ultimately a lame duck

-Why e-cash protocols like Fedimint are likely the most practical privacy protocols in the Bitcoin scaling world right now

-How activists and civilians are using Fedi to escape financial and political oppression throughout the global south

A powerful interview for those who want to more deeply understand the true purpose of Bitcoin and its cypherpunk roots, it’s worth spending some time with this one.