The Pregame

In preparation for his LIVE AT PUBKEY show downstairs, ⁠Preston Byrne (Managing Partner at Byrne & Storm) grabs a cold one with host ⁠Thomas Pacchia in the PubKey NYC Parlor, where they let loose for an UNFILTERED conversation about:Preston's fight against the U.K.’s Online Safety Act, a global censorship weapon aimed at Americans who never set foot in BritainWhy Preston stepped in alone to defend Gab, Kiwi Farms, 4chan, and others when every big law firm refusedThe UK’s thirty-year slide into criminalizing tweets (and why it’s the cautionary tale for every Western democracy)How anonymous and pseudonymous speech became a constitutional battleground in the age of surveillance and digital ID...and more!▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬Welcome home. PubKey is a bar and cultural venue located in New York City and Washington D.C. (With more locations coming!) We host FREE & OPEN TO THE PUBLIC events for the curious, the rebellious, and the orange-pilled.Visit PubKey:🗽 PubKey NYC🗽 85 Washington Place🗽 New York, NY 10011🇺🇸 PubKey D.C.🇺🇸 410 7th St NW🇺🇸 Washington, DC 20004🧡 Register for FREE weekly meetups and events: https://luma.com/user/pubkey🍔 Check out our food menu (yes, we discount 21% if you pay in BTC!): https://pubkey.bar/menuSometimes you want to go where everybody knows your nym.Est. 735075.

In preparation for his LIVE AT PUBKEY show downstairs, ⁠Erik Cason (author of Cryptosovereignty: The Encrypted Political Philosophy of Bitcoin) grabs a cold one with host ⁠Thomas Pacchia in the PubKey NYC Parlor, where they let loose for an UNFILTERED conversation about:How Bitcoin introduced a new form of political power that will reshape the structure of nation-statesWhy fiat’s century-long decay (from greenbacks to 1971 to the GFC) created today’s nihilism, instability, and rising extremismWhat Bitcoiners get WRONG about central bankers, Cantillon dynamics, and the moral psychology behind money printingThe coming clash between custodial Bitcoin (ETFs, treasuries) and self-sovereign BitcoinWhy AI and proprietary language models are becoming the new battleground for human autonomyHow generational resentment, collapsing institutions, and political polarization could push America toward a Weimar-style forkWhy REAL self-sovereignty demands new hardware, new UX, and a cultural shift toward running your own stackWhether Bitcoiners must eventually organize politically to avoid both authoritarian capture and extremist backlash▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬Welcome home. PubKey is a bar and cultural venue located in New York City and Washington D.C. (With more locations coming!)We host FREE & OPEN TO THE PUBLIC events for the curious, the rebellious, and the orange-pilled.Visit PubKey:🗽 PubKey NYC🗽 85 Washington Place🗽 New York, NY 10011🇺🇸 PubKey D.C.🇺🇸 410 7th St NW🇺🇸 Washington, DC 20004🧡 Register for FREE weekly meetups and events: https://luma.com/user/pubkey🍔 Check out our food menu (yes, we discount 21% if you pay in BTC!): https://pubkey.bar/menuSometimes you want to go where everybody knows your nym.Est. 735075.

In preparation for their LIVE AT PUBKEY show downstairs, Frank Corva and David Z. Morris (journalist at The Rage) crack open a few cold ones with host Thomas Pacchia and pregame in the PubKey NYC Parlor, where they let loose for an UNFILTERED conversation about the Samourai Wallet trial verdict:Why the DOJ dropped money-laundering charges against the devs but still pushed for a max sentence under “unlicensed money transmission”How Keonne Rodriguez's handwritten letter advocating for his innocence actually... backfired?The bipartisan war on privacy tech and why lip-service support from Washington D.C. doesn't protect developersHow Samurai’s own rhetoric (i.e. marketing to hackers and oligarchs) became the prosecution’s strongest evidenceAnd what this all means for open-source builders: decentralize early, lawyer up, watch your language (even in group chats you think are "encrypted" and "private"), and more▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬PubKey meetups are FREE and OPEN TO THE PUBLIC. Join us to ask live questions and enjoy a pint together. Good food, bad opinions, great company.🧡 NYC Meetups: https://luma.com/user/pubkey🗽 PubKey NYC🗽 85 Washington Place🗽 New York, NY 10011Follow us on X: ⁠https://x.com/PubKey⁠

In preparation for their LIVE AT PUBKEY show downstairs, Frank Corva, Zac Guignard⁠ (Financial Freedom Content Associate at ⁠HRF⁠), and ⁠Will Casarin⁠ (founder of ⁠Damus⁠) crack open a few cold ones and pregame in the PubKey NYC Parlor, where they let loose for an UNFILTERED conversation about: Yes, centralized platforms strip autonomy, but Nostr’s open protocol flips control back to the userHow Damus broadcasts to 100+ relays at once, making deplatforming nearly impossibleWhy vibe coding is lowering the barrier to building decentralized appsWhat it'll mean for our current online incentives for content to go viral without an algorithm (hint: it disrupts the entire Internet)▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬PubKey meetups are FREE and OPEN TO THE PUBLIC. Join us to ask live questions and enjoy a pint together. Good food, bad opinions, great company.🧡 NYC Meetups: https://luma.com/user/pubkey🗽 PubKey NYC🗽 85 Washington Place🗽 New York, NY 10011Follow us on X: ⁠https://x.com/PubKey⁠

Thomas Pacchia and Jorge Jraissati (Venezuelan activist and president of the Economic Inclusion Group) crack open a few cold ones and pregame in the PubKey NYC Parlor, where they let loose for an UNFILTERED conversation about: How Jorge's fight for financial inclusion led to building a pro-Bitcoin advocacy group in WashingtonWhy the Bank Secrecy Act (and the ways it enables financial surveillance and censorship) is the real “final boss” for BitcoinersThe quiet alliance between big banks and regulators that keeps reform off-limits while crushing small businesses and human rights groupsHow the same AML laws used to fight crime are weaponized against dissidents (and give foreign governments access to Americans’ PRIVATE data)The definitive argument on why Bitcoiners must engage in politics▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬PubKey meetups are FREE and PUBLIC. Join us to ask live questions, engage with experts, and enjoy a pint together:🗽 PubKey NYC🗽 85 Washington Place🗽 New York, NY 10011🧡 https://www.meetup.com/pubkey-meetups/events/🧡 https://luma.com/user/pubkeyCatch the next livestream on X: ⁠https://x.com/PubKey⁠

In preparation for their Live at PubKey show downstairs, Christian "CK" Keroles, Matt Ahlborg, and Kyle Olney (with host Thomas Pacchia⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠) crack open a few cold ones and pregame in the PubKey NYC Parlor, where they let loose for an UNFILTERED conversation about: Why Tether adoption in Argentina exploded while Bitcoin lagged behindThe problem with centralized AI APIsWhy OpenAI’s success mirrors Stripe’s (but who really controls the Internet?)How PayPerQ could reshape AI access for activists, educators, and anyone sick of SaaS modelsBitcoin's cultural split: is it still a tool for dissidents, or has it gone full TradFi?▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬PubKey meetups are FREE and PUBLIC. Join us to ask live questions, engage with experts, and enjoy a pint together:🗽 PubKey NYC🗽 85 Washington Place🗽 New York, NY 10011🧡 https://www.meetup.com/pubkey-meetups/events/🧡 https://luma.com/user/pubkeyCatch the next livestream on X: ⁠https://x.com/PubKey⁠

Max Keiser and Stacy Herbert pre-game at the PubKey NYC Parlor (with hosts Thomas Pacchia and Mike Germano) in preparation for their LIVE AT PUBKEY show downstairs. They let loose for an unfiltered, beer-fueled conversation about: How Max’s early Wall Street failures, stand-up gigs, and film sets converged into his Bitcoin origin storyWhy punk rock and NYC “asshole culture” are the real foundation of Bitcoin maximalismStacy’s reflections on cultural power, media collapse, and why El Salvador is the new FlorenceThe curse of soft men, the IMF, and what it'll take to fix the broken Western elite (yes, Bitcoiners may need a little more testosterone)▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬Catch the next Pre-game livestream by following us on X: ⁠⁠⁠https://x.com/PubKey⁠⁠⁠

Quoth the Raven pre-games at the NYC Parlor with Thomas Pacchia and Matt Kita in preparation for his LIVE AT PUBKEY show downstairs. They let loose for an unfiltered, beer-fueled conversation about: Quoth the Raven's journey from disillusioned English major to bartender to short-seller... to accidental Bitcoin convertWhy the Fed is cornered the U.S. fiscal outlook is “beyond repair,” leaving most market participants due for a brutal reckoningWhat the Sydney Sweeney American Eagle ad campaign says about the state of the nationWhy Bitcoin works not despite its culture, but because of it (“tattooed freaks,” dive bars, and all)▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬Catch the next Pre-game livestream by following us on X: ⁠⁠⁠https://x.com/PubKey⁠⁠⁠

Thomas Pacchia sits down for a livestreamed chat in the PubKey Parlor with Alex Li (Bitcoin development lead at the Human Rights Foundation) and Alex Gleason (currently Soapbox, formerly ex-Head of Engineering at Truth Social). They discuss:Why Nostr's keypair system makes it more secure than Twitter (or even Mastodon)How Alex Gleason’s open-source software got co-opted by Truth Social, and how he discovered Trump Media wasn't TRULY interested in free speechThe massive vulnerabilities in Bluesky’s architecture and why it’s still “fake decentralization”How AI is unlocking creative potential for both activists and developers on the frontlines of freedom techWhy Bitcoin is still the glue that holds it all together... and why we need “freedom go up” alongside number go up▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬Catch the next Spaces by following us on X: ⁠⁠⁠https://x.com/PubKey⁠⁠⁠

Thomas Pacchia⁠⁠ and ⁠Drew Armstrong⁠ sit down for a livestreamed chat in the PubKey parlor with ⁠⁠Alex Leishman⁠⁠ (CEO and CTO of ⁠River⁠). They discuss:Why River prioritizes operational excellence over financial engineeringHow states like Ohio and cities like Roswell, NM are quietly becoming pro-BitcoinWhy the rise of Bitcoin treasury companies could create systemic risks (and how River’s approach differs from the $MSTR playbook )Whether "paper Bitcoin" is a threat among custodians like Coinbase▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ Catch the next Spaces by following us on X: ⁠⁠⁠https://x.com/PubKey⁠⁠

Thomas Pacchia⁠ and Mike Germano sit down for a livestreamed chat in the PubKey parlor with ⁠Peter McCormack⁠ and his son ⁠Conor⁠, the father-son duo behind Real Bedford FC. They discuss: How buying an F-tier football team accidentally became a Bitcoin branding masterstroke What it takes to build a winning squad while orange-pilling a town in real time Why Bedford might become the first truly Bitcoin-native city The challenges of stacking sats, managing payroll, and selling out stadiums without fiat crutches How Real Bedford balances serious football ambition with a global internet cult following ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ Catch the next Spaces by following us on X: ⁠⁠https://x.com/PubKey⁠

Thomas Pacchia and Drew Armstrong sit down for a livestreamed chat in the PubKey parlor with ⁠Antoine Poinsot⁠ and ⁠ArbedOut⁠. Partway through, ⁠MrHODL⁠ crashes our studio to stir the pot. They discuss: What really caused the OP_RETURN firestorm, and why it’s about more than just inscriptions How the push for more data storage is creating incentives for harmful workarounds and network bloat Why Bitcoin Knots is no longer “just a slightly modified Core," and why that should concern you The tension between “community values” and miner incentives in the age of alternate implementations The uncomfortable legacy of mempool policy: from anti-spam fixes to today’s shadow consensus BONUS: the French idiom that perfectly captures why decentralized decision-making is so hard ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ Catch the next Spaces by following us on X: ⁠https://x.com/PubKey⁠

The team is back from Bitcoin 2025 and the Oslo Freedom Forum! Thomas Pacchia hosts a packed post-conference debrief with Mike Germano, Drew Armstrong, and Frank Corva to break down what went down in Las Vegas and Oslo: What ACTUALLY happened behind-the-scenes at the Bitcoin Conference Why corporate treasury strategies dominated this year’s Bitcoin conference What it means when Bitcoin miners start acting like MicroStrategy Why some fear the next crash will be triggered by the new wave of public BTC holders How Pubkey’s Oslo Freedom Forum after-parties helped activists decompress Why Vegas felt like Bitcoin’s Madison Square Garden moment… and whether that’s a good thing ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ Catch the next Spaces by following us on X: ⁠⁠⁠https://x.com/PubKey⁠⁠

Thomas Pacchia and Mike Germano sit down for a livestreamed chat with ⁠Ian Rogers⁠, who went from managing the Beastie Boys’ digital presence to running Beats Music, building luxury tech at LVMH, and now pushing self-custody mainstream as Chief Experience Officer at Ledger. They discuss: What the Beastie Boys taught Ian about decentralization LONG before Bitcoin How iTunes reshaped digital commerce (and what it got wrong) Why Louis Vuitton made him rethink scarcity, status, and what it means to “own” something How Ledger is designing hardware wallets for the next 100 million users Why streetwear, skating, and Bitcoin all thrive on earned identity, not marketing ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ Catch the next Spaces by following us on X: ⁠⁠https://x.com/PubKey⁠

Thomas Pacchia sits down for a livestreamed chat with Alex Gladstein, Chief Strategy Officer at the Human Rights Foundation. They discuss: How HRF became an early Bitcoin-native organization (yes, even before Strategy) The hidden power of activist-developer collisions at the Oslo Freedom Forum Why authoritarian regimes (like North Korea) embracing Bitcoin might actually accelerate their collapse The plan to bring open-source AI tools to human rights defenders and keep them out of OpenAI and Worldcoin's hands ... and what scaling really means for Bitcoin’s next 100 million users ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ Catch the next Spaces by following us on X: ⁠https://x.com/PubKey

Berta Valle, a Nicaraguan journalist and vocal critic of the Daniel Ortega regime, joins Arsh Molu (Financial Freedom at the Human Rights Foundation) and Thomas Pacchia for a live-streamed chat in the PubKey Parlor, where they dive deep into:How Berta’s husband Félix Maradiaga went from professor to political prisonerThe moment her family lost access to all their savings overnightHow Nicaraguan police used banking data to hunt journalists and dissidentsHow exiled Nicaraguans are using freedom tech like to stay connected and fedThe terrifying legal trap of being declared stateless (and what it means for families)A daughter's letter that helped free her father from solitary confinement▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬Catch the next Spaces by following us on X: ⁠https://x.com/PubKey⁠

Evan Mawarire, a Zimbabwean pastor-turned activist who led a peaceful uprising against dictator Robert Mugabe, joins Ayelen Osorio of the Human Rights Foundation, Femi Longe, and Thomas Pacchia for a live-streamed chat in the PubKey Parlor, where they dive deep into:The chilling story of Zimbabwe’s $100 trillion banknote—and what it felt like to hold worthless moneyHow Evan’s citizen movement started with a four-minute video and grew into a national protestWhat it’s like to watch your parents’ $80,000 life savings disappear overnightHow Zimbabweans survive when their government zeros out their bank accounts without warningThe underground networks and WhatsApp groups people use to find fuel, food, and basic necessitiesWhy Bitcoin and freedom tech matter in countries where the financial system is weaponized against the people▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬Catch the next Spaces by following us on X: ⁠https://x.com/PubKey⁠Recorded on April 3rd, 2025 at PubKey NYC.

Frank Corva (political correspondent at Bitcoin Magazine) and John Dennehy (founder of My First Bitcoin) join The Daniel for a live-streamed chat in the PubKey Parlor, where they dive deep into:The insane story of how John was detained by British police—and how he got out of itHow My First Bitcoin went from one classroom to 25 countries without VC money or corporate sponsorshipWhy Bitcoin education is still stuck in “step zero” (and what it 'll take to move beyond it)The tension between Bitcoin adoption as a top-down state project versus a bottom-up liberation tool▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ Catch the next Spaces by following us on X: ⁠https://x.com/PubKey⁠ Recorded on March 31st, 2025 at PubKey NYC.

Dan O’Prey and Mas Nakachi join The Daniel for a live-streamed chat in the PubKey Parlor, where they discuss ​1A1z's recent reports covering both the organizations that fund Bitcoin core devs and VC firms focused on Bitcoin companies. They dive into: Why are there only 41 people maintaining a trillion-dollar network—and who’s paying them? What happens when the most important software in the world runs on a shoestring budget? The quiet role of Jack Dorsey and a handful of anonymous benefactors... and how normal people can be even more impactful Why Bitcoin’s biggest security risk might be a spreadsheet no one’s looking at The bizarre funding gap between flashy altcoin projects and Bitcoin companies What the VC world still doesn’t get about Bitcoin and everyday users—and how that might be changing ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ Catch the next Spaces by following us on X: ⁠https://x.com/PubKey⁠ Recorded on March 20th, 2025 at PubKey NYC.

Thomas Pacchia sits down for a livestreamed chat with Trace Mayer, one of Bitcoin's earliest advocates. They discuss: How Trace discovered Bitcoin during a law school research rabbit holeWhy gold bugs rejected Bitcoin early (and what they failed to see)The moment Trace knew he was being censoredWhy triple-entry bookkeeping is a bigger deal than most people realizeHow inflation, surveillance, and financial repression are all part of the same modern warThe mindset one needs to achieve the most good in the world...and more!▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬Catch the next Spaces by following us on X: https://x.com/PubKeyRecorded on March 19th, 2025 at PubKey NYC.