Citadel Dispatch

Alex Gleason was one of the main architects behind Donald Trump's Truth Social. Now he focuses on the intersection of nostr, ai, and bitcoin. We explore open source ai agents, such as OpenClaw, and the wider implications of the tech on society.

Alex on Nostr: https://primal.net/p/nprofile1qqsqgc0uhmxycvm5gwvn944c7yfxnnxm0nyh8tt62zhrvtd3xkj8fhggpt7fy
Clawstr: https://clawstr.com/
Soapbox Tools: https://soapbox.pub/tools

My bot's nostr account: https://primal.net/p/nprofile1qqsfzaahg24yf7kujwrzje8rwa7xmt359tf9zyyjeczc9dhll30k8pgmlfee2

EPISODE: 190
BLOCK: 935786
PRICE: 1422 sats per dollar

(00:02:30) Value-for-value, no sponsors, and show philosophy
(00:02:39) Alex Gleason returns to talk AI
(00:03:56) From vibe coding to open-source agents with memory
(00:05:24) Messaging-first UX: Signal, Nostr, WhatsApp as AI interfaces
(00:06:10) Why chatbots beat traditional AI apps for mainstream users
(00:07:07) Open protocols pain vs closed platforms; Bitcoin and Nostr
(00:08:52) Automating social games: price tracker and agent posting on Nostr
(00:10:01) AI mediators for collective action, constitutions, and nonprofits
(00:11:46) Scaling governance: trust, bias, and Discord vs freedom tech
(00:13:14) Bot barriers on centralized messengers and need for open chat
(00:14:04) Clawstr: decentralized AI-to-AI discussions on Nostr
(00:15:21) Hype vs reality in AI agents; emergent behaviors and money
(00:16:26) Agentic payments: bots with Cashu wallets and earnings
(00:18:40) Agents solving UX pain: relay management, keys, and UTXOs
(00:20:00) Cold storage approvals with chat agents: a new wallet paradigm
(00:20:22) Specialized agents, skills, and distribution challenges
(00:22:34) Cost tradeoffs: pay another agent vs build skills yourself
(00:24:55) Token burn lessons
(00:27:44) Beyond OpenClaw: bloated stacks, Icarus, and cost-optimized agents
(00:28:52) Hybrid model routing: local small models with cloud for heavy lifts
(00:29:47) Agents paying humans directly: disintermediating platforms
(00:30:47) Voice, screens, and form factors: AirPods, text, and brain chips
(00:33:01) Apple, privacy branding, and the Siri gap
(00:34:35) Enterprise AI choices: Google, Microsoft, trust, and lock-in
(00:36:01) Model personalities: Gemini concerns and OpenAI "openwashing"
(00:37:23) Obvious agent UX wins: flights, rides, and social media shifts
(00:38:50) Local-first social: group chats, neighbors, and healthier networks
(00:40:16) Antiprimal.net: standardizing stats from Primal's caching server
(00:43:34) Open specs, documentation via AI, and trust tradeoffs
(00:45:18) Indexes vs client-side scans: performance and verification
(00:46:20) APIs, rate limits, and a market for paid Nostr data
(00:47:57) Agents and DVMs: paying sats for services on demand
(00:48:49) Degenerate bots: LN Markets, costs, and Polymarket curiosity
(00:50:42) Truth feeds for agents: Nostr, webs of trust, and OSINT sources
(00:53:51) Post-truth reality: verification, signatures, and subjectivity
(00:56:04) Polymarket mechanics: on-chain prediction markets and signals
(01:00:10) Trading perception vs truth; sports markets as timelines
(01:01:45) The Clawstr token saga: hype, claims, and misinformation
(01:07:11) Why meme coins are scams: no equity, utility myths, slow rugs
(01:08:55) Pulling the rug back: swapping out, fallout, and donations
(01:10:49) Aftermath: donating to OpenSats and lessons learned
(01:12:14) Prediction markets vs meme coins: societal value distinction
(01:15:25) Iterating beyond OpenClaw and MoltBook; experiments on Nostr
(01:18:00) Do bots need Clawstr? Segregating AI content and labels
(01:21:02) Reverse CAPTCHA: proving bot-ness and the honor system
(01:23:38) Souls, prompts, and token costs; agents with personalities
(01:27:01) Wrap-up: acceleration, optimism, and next check-in
(01:28:21) Open-source models, China’s incentives, and local hardware
(01:30:06) The dream stack: home server agent, Nostr chat, hybrid models

more info on the show: https://citadeldispatch.com
learn more about me: https://odell.xyz

Carel van Wyk is the founder and CEO of MoneyBadger. MoneyBadger enables easy bitcoin payments at 650 thousand stores in South Africa.

MoneyBadger on Nostr: https://primal.net/p/nprofile1qqsz85k206vm3vqdmlvcy9l4kyfqchlnf4hnctasxufa3ph0ck9decgpk49rf
MoneyBadger on X: https://x.com/MoneyBadgerPay
Wesbite: https://www.moneybadger.co.za/

EPISODE: 189
BLOCK: 933542
PRICE: 1112 sats per dollar

(00:03:26) What is Money Badger? Mission and merchant focus
(00:05:13) Paying anywhere in South Africa
(00:05:27) 650,000 locations
(00:07:04) Leveraging existing QR payment rails and the Pick n Pay breakthrough
(00:10:01) How the flow works: bridging proprietary QR to Lightning
(00:11:18) MoneyBadger app as translator vs. using any Lightning wallet
(00:13:04) Fiat settlement, volatility handling, and business model
(00:17:07) Why no Money Badger wallet? Integrations with Blink, Zeus, Aqua
(00:20:20) A clever LNURL/Lightning Address pattern to decode merchant QRs
(00:23:39) Pragmatic, a bit hacky, and works across wallets
(00:28:04) Replicability beyond SA: Kenya’s M‑Pesa, Ghana, Latin America
(00:32:10) Creating demand: Bitcoin Ekasi as proof-of-use for Pick n Pay
(00:35:15) Real usage: growth to ~5k tx/month and $200k volume
(00:39:40) Who spends Bitcoin? From cash users to OGs and ideologues
(00:42:34) Incentives and the challenge of moving the middle
(00:43:42) Tax context in South Africa: capital gains thresholds
(00:46:59) UX talk: tap-to-pay vs. QR, hardware realities and patience
(00:49:12) Beyond POS: treasury, suppliers, and stablecoin pull
(00:51:03) Bitcoin vs. stablecoins in SA usage; Luno/Binance integrations
(00:55:07) Wild flexibility: paying with almost any token via partners
(00:57:46) Urgency to prove Bitcoin as money before it’s siloed
(00:58:00) Hypothetical: Square/Cash App design vs. bridge approach
(01:03:41) Consumer friction at checkout and signaling acceptance
(01:07:38) Tipping, bridges to Venmo/Cash App, and cash realities
(01:09:19) Call to action: spend Bitcoin to create demand
(01:11:08) Wrap-up: plans to visit SA, links, and farewell

more info on the show: https://citadeldispatch.com
learn more about me: https://odell.xyz

Matt Corallo has been a bitcoin developer for nearly fifteen years. We discuss his views on the recent bitcoin core bug, the proposed us clarity act, and the risks/mitigations of quantum computing.

Corallo on Nostr: https://primal.net/mattcorallo
Corallo on X: https://x.com/TheBlueMatt
Save our Wallets: https://SaveOurWallets.org

Ten31 Quantum Report: https://www.ten31.xyz/insights/quantum-computing-bitcoin-security

EPISODE: 188
BLOCK: 932276
PRICE: 1030 sats per dollar

(00:03:37) Bitcoin Core legacy wallet migration bug
(00:07:41) Backups, edge cases, and defensive coding culture
(00:07:58) Clarity Act and developer protections: SaveOurWallets.org
(00:10:19) Self-custody legal clarity
(00:13:12) Partisan Bitcoin ownership data
(00:14:43) Surveillance and KYC/AML tightening concerns
(00:20:43) Quantum threat framing and scope
(00:22:10) Seed phrases enable quantum-safe proofs via hashes
(00:24:58) What quantum breaks: exposed public keys, Taproot, and address reuse
(00:31:21) Design choices hinge on whether insecure spend paths are frozen
(00:33:43) Options: backup TapLeaf, new address types, and fee/UX tradeoffs
(00:36:14) Opt-in Taproot versioning to signal post-quantum readiness
(00:38:07) Adoption reality: wallet support, privacy impacts, and rollout pace
(00:39:34) Freeze-or-not debate: social contract, market dynamics, forks
(00:43:56) Public vs. secret quantum progress: who gets there first?
(00:47:06) Fork economics: supply shocks, Satoshis coins, and market choice
(00:55:01) In-system vs. out-of-system theft; why quantum is different
(01:10:01) Preparing pragmatically: give future users post-quantum options
(01:24:28) Timelines and hype: where quantum computing really stands
(01:29:00) Final takeaways: no panic

more info on the show: https://citadeldispatch.com
learn more about me: https://odell.xyz

Anjan Sundaram is an independent journalist, author, and founder of the Stringer Foundation with a mission to expand global independent journalism. We discuss his work and how open protocols, such as bitcoin and nostr, empower journalists.

Anjan on Nostr: https://primal.net/anjansun
Anjan on X: https://x.com/anjansun
Stringer Foundation on X: https://stringerjournalism.org/

EPISODE: 187
BLOCK: 928149
PRICE: 1140 sats per dollar

(00:03:09) Anjan’s path: from Yale and Goldman Sachs to war reporting
(00:06:07) How war reporting is changing in the age of social media
(00:10:32) What makes a journalist? Raw footage vs. verified reporting
(00:14:00) Publishing pathways, bylines, pay, and lack of safety nets
(00:18:12) Fixing incentives: philanthropy, prizes, and media economics
(00:21:00) Turning down quant life: the Goldman Sachs detour
(00:23:07) Values alignment: finance, bitcoin, and free information flows
(00:24:49) Bloomberg, Substack, and sustainability
(00:26:19) Designing the Stringer Prize: credibility, juries, and impact
(00:29:39) Launching Stringer: partners, applications, and endowment plan
(00:32:10) Why pay in bitcoin: global payouts, fees, and onboarding stories
(00:35:33) Grants to awards pipeline and the courage index
(00:41:01) Lean ops vs. big charity: publicity without bloat
(00:43:59) The tenure problem: long-term support without dependency
(00:48:26) Transformative fellowships: MacArthur model and global gaps
(00:51:30) Journalism’s core: elevating humane, inspiring stories
(00:53:10) Value-for-value, Nostr, and building ad-free media
(00:58:24) Own your audience: platforms vs. protocols
(01:02:30) Bootstrapping Nostr: network effects and onboarding journalists
(01:05:13) Building a global home for independent journalists
(01:06:07) The drought in investigative reporting and who funds it

more info on the show: https://citadeldispatch.com
learn more about me: https://odell.xyz

John Arnold is a colleague of mine at Ten31, we are five man team focused on investing in and supporting the best bitcoin businesses globally. This is our third quarterly update where we cover current market dynamics and our outlook.

More info on Ten31: https://www.ten31.xyz

Quantum: https://www.ten31.xyz/insights/quantum-computing-bitcoin-security

Note: AnchorWatch does not use taproot. I was mistaken.

John on Nostr: https://primal.net/john
John on X: https://x.com/JohnArnoldTen31
Ten31 on X: https://x.com/ten31funds

EPISODE: 186
BLOCK: 927606
PRICE: 1108 sats per dollar

(00:07:01) Four Year Cycles: Liquidity vs. halving
(00:12:21) Market manipulation?
(00:13:53) Day vs. night: IBIT hours, ETFs, stay humble and stack sats
(00:16:40) Premarket/postmarket liquidity and trading
(00:16:47) Quantum: FUD Rising
(00:24:03) Address types at risk: P2PK, P2PKH race, Taproot exposure
(00:25:11) Practical mitigations
(00:27:28) Long-range vs. short-range quantum attacks and feasibility
(00:28:40) Reality check: scaling physical QC and secrecy constraints
(00:31:01) Coordination and upgrade paths: post-quantum options
(00:33:30) Social contract: no seizure of old coins
(00:36:25) Did quantum FUD drive the drawdown?
(00:40:00) Why gold and silver are at highs while Bitcoin lags
(00:51:06) Mega-cap tech as the new savings account and TINA
(00:57:36) Fed cuts, QT ends, QE or not semantics, and Bitcoins response
(01:07:00) Looking ahead: more cuts, policy path, and 2026 setup
(01:13:01) Giga-bullish case: scarce assets vs. fiscal-monetary impulse
(01:16:03) Gold vs. Bitcoin for individuals and sovereigns
(01:20:02) Counterparty risk with ETFs and the case for self-custody
(01:26:12) Bottom in? Price targets, humility, and risk management
(01:30:29) USD tokens (stablecoins): growth, limits, and policy aims
(01:35:04) Tethers dominance, gold tokens, and a silver tangent
(01:41:03) Closing thoughts: on-chain flows, whos buying, and sign-off

more info on the show: https://citadeldispatch.com
learn more about me: https://odell.xyz