“Information wants to be free” is not a slogan, it is a warning. Once your personal data leaks, there is no pulling it back, and AI is making breaches, scams, and mass surveillance faster, cheaper, and harder to avoid. We sit down with Ricardo Spagni, best known as Fluffy Pony and a former Monero contributor, to get brutally clear on what privacy actually is: the ability to selectively control what you reveal to specific people, companies, or the state. 

Fountain: Podcasts & Music

Straight, No Chaser • Riccardo Spagni - Privacy Basics For A Hostile Internet • Listen on Fountain

“Information wants to be free” is not a slogan, it is a warning. Once your personal data leaks, there is no pulling it back, and AI is making b...

We dig into why scams and hacks feel relentless right now, from AI-powered trickery to supply chain compromises that shake confidence in hardware wallets. We also challenge the “just use an ETF” narrative, then close with a sobering look at CBDCs and how control can be enforced from the top down. • the simple rule that “too good to be true” is always a scam • Grokbot agents, browser access and the privacy trade-off • Ledger supply chain attacks and why authorised resellers are not enough • self-custody threat models, open source components and DIY options • the Blink wallet hack, why 2FA matters and custodial versus self-custody risk • African Bitcoin Corporation red flags and how reputations get laundered • how scammers write, promise and recruit using repeatable patterns • why scammers go after critics with lawsuits and intimidation • Russia’s CBDC rollout strategy and the bigger lesson for adoption • Tether’s scale, freezing power and why it resembles a de facto CBDC 

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Adopting Bitcoin Cape Town (@abcptza) on X

High signal, Bitcoin-only, annual 2-day conference in Cape Town. Not crypto. https://t.co/j9dtPPMcMt https://t.co/WXkWPRYxQU

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Bitcoin Ekasi (@BitcoinEkasi) on X

Building a #Bitcoin circular economy in a #SouthAfrican township | Cooperation, Support & Inspiration: @the_surfer_kids, @UnravelSurf, @BitcoinBeac...

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Handre (@Handre) on X

Economic Historian. Storyteller.

Economic Heretics | Handre van Heerden | Substack

Economic Heretics is the weekly deep dive into Austrian economics — sound money, free markets, and why central planning always fails. Learn to pr...

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A business directory and content hub helping South Africans spend and accept Bitcoin with confidence.

Fountain: Podcasts & Music

Straight, No Chaser • Round Up 13 - The Scam Season In Bitcoin • Listen on Fountain

We dig into why scams and hacks feel relentless right now, from AI-powered trickery to supply chain compromises that shake confidence in hardware w...

Nextcloud running on @Umbrel ☂️ crashes with every app update. Guess it's ossification for me now.

I first bumped into @NoGood ✌️ at TABConf2024 @TABConf 8 - Oct 12-15, 2026 ATL when I volunteered to help out at the event. He wasn't there. Or if he was, we wasnt introduced. The posters and banner artwork immediately caught my attention. Comic books are always something I've enjoyed, fat as far back as I can remember. And it's almost always the visuals that gets me. I've been away from comics for a while but walking into that room brought it all back to me. It's also not just the style I love about NG, it's the subject matter too. My dad bought a ZX Spectrum 16k machine in the early 80's. You needed to plug in a tube TV and tape deck (software was a cassette tape back then). Growing up with computers, watching them evolve (along side myself) but struggling to get other people to share my fascination was just how it was. My best friend could even switch it on. Building PC's from ordered parts, adding in sound cards and video cards, watching Commodore and Amiga do amazing things that pc's couldn't do (back then), has been a huge part of my childhood and teenage memories. In my adult years it was setting up a raspberry pi to my my first bitcoin node, and btcpayserver, and all the wallet & nostr stuff. No Good brings all that wonder back into one book. (The stickers are a wicked bonus too). Thanks man, the wait was worth it.

We weigh up BIP 110 and Bitcoin spam without pretending anger is a strategy, then zoom out to how narratives shape both protocol fights and geopolitics. We end on hands-on freedom tech, from Start9 and Nostr to self-hosted AI, plus a reminder that most Bitcoin “disasters” start with a basic node check. • why BIP 110 is framed as a fix by some and a protest by others • the uncomfortable idea that fees may be the only neutral filter • how knee-jerk reactions and online behaviour distort technical debates • Iran, the Strait of Hormuz, and the economic knock-on effects of escalation • propaganda incentives and “good guy” branding in foreign policy • South African elections, legitimacy, and the case for smaller governance units • the Freedom Stack framing: Bitcoin, Nostr, and AI as practical tools • Start9 experiences: remote access, services, hardware constraints, and experimentation • privacy trade-offs when using hosted AI versus local models • troubleshooting a “missing payment” by checking node sync and connectivity Get yourself a little bit of Bitcoin, get off zero, buy something, move it around from your phone wallet onto somebody else. Just mess around, just get comfortable with it. Take five bucks, ten bucks, something, fifty bucks, something that you're not afraid to lose, and just try something. @vryfokkenou @npub1aj9k...w6h3

Fountain: Podcasts & Music

Straight, No Chaser • Round Up 11: BIP 110 Sounds Simple Until You Ask Who Decides • Listen on Fountain

We weigh up BIP 110 and Bitcoin spam without pretending anger is a strategy, then zoom out to how narratives shape both protocol fights and geopoli...

They don’t need to pass a new law to change your life, they can update “regulations” and call it a day. We sit down to unpack South Africa’s draft capital flow regulations from Treasury and the South African Reserve Bank, why the public comment window matters, and why the process feels like it dodges real democratic accountability. @npub1aj9k...w6h3 @OKIN @vryfokkenou

Fountain: Podcasts & Music

Straight, No Chaser • Monthly Round Up 8: Capital Controls Come For Bitcoin • Listen on Fountain

They don’t need to pass a new law to change your life, they can update “regulations” and call it a day. We sit down to unpack South Africa’...

This is Ben and his 14yr old daughter Sam. She's speaking here at the Adopting Bitcoin Cape Town 2026 conference. Maybe my kids will join me for the next bitcoin conference? #abct2026

Have you ever wondered what Bitcoin actually is, beyond the headlines and jargon? This conversation with Walker America, host of one of the fastest-growing Bitcoin podcasts worldwide, breaks everything down into refreshingly simple terms that anyone can understand. Walker's own journey mirrors what many experience—dismissing Bitcoin in 2014, dabbling in cryptocurrencies at the 2017 peak, then finally grasping Bitcoin's significance during the 2020 pandemic. His candid admission that "I knew absolutely nothing about money or economics" before exploring Bitcoin resonates with anyone who's felt intimidated by financial systems designed to seem complex. @walker

Fountain: Podcasts & Music

Straight, No Chaser • Walker America - When Two Podcasters Talk Bitcoin Magic Happens • Listen on Fountain

Have you ever wondered what Bitcoin actually is, beyond the headlines and jargon? This conversation with Walker America, host of one of the fastest...

First episode of my new podcast. Understanding Freedom through Money, Technology, Economics and Philosophy. South African flavor.

Fountain: Podcasts & Music

Straight, No Chaser • Listen on Fountain

Understanding Freedom through Money, Technology, Economics and Philosophy

You know we have hit the mainstream when ‘elites’ are arguing over the term ‘sats’. Reminds me of a bunch of politicians creating a storm over absolutely nothing, in an attempt to sound relevant. The most anti-cyberpunk thing I’ve ever heard.