We hosted a Twitter/X spaces Q/A with V4BTC from The Bitcoin Way. Book a free 30-minute call with Tony and the rest of the team here loveisbitcoin.com/call
Listen to it here:
Or on X:
https://x.com/LoveIsBitcoin21/status/1707181459834892343?s=20
Or Listen on fountain and zap us some sats:
https://fountain.fm/episode/IFxwXmdi7LLgnitWOfHW
Transcript
Libby: Hi. Can you hear me?
V4BTC: Hi, how are you?
Libby: Hi, Tony. How are you?
V4BTC: I’m, excellent. How are you?
Libby: Very good. Very good. This is our first space here in Love is Bitcoin. So we are like yeah.
V4BTC: Ah, it’s my first one too. Ah, I’ve spoken on one a long time ago, but like, to actually co host one. I have no idea how to co host these things. I have to learn this now.
Libby: We’ll learn together.
V4BTC: Yeah, of course. It’ll be fun.
Okay. So I want to introduce you to our community. And, um, we hope to start getting questions from our audience
Libby: Okay. So I want to introduce you to our community. And you’re like a, cybersecurity expert and a bitcoin educator. And, as I know, you are part of the Bitcoin Way project.
V4BTC: Correct.
Libby: We would like to hear more about it. And, we hope to start getting questions from our audience so that maybe you can help and, teach us all something new about this wonderful space.
V4BTC: Yeah, okay, sure. I mean, the conversation will be more like on a general level. I don’t think we’re going to get into very deep technicals on this call because, that would require a more, one to one, environment for this. But, I mean, we can definitely discuss the pros and cons for certain approaches with regards to self custody.
Libby: That’s perfect. So, would you like to.
How would you tell a newbie how to secure his first SATS
V4BTC: Let’S.
Libby: Start with the basics. So maybe if you could tell me, how would you tell a newbie how to secure, his first SATS? And, what should he, start looking up to?
V4BTC: Okay. Are we actually starting now? We’re starting now, right?
Libby: Yes.
V4BTC: Let’s do this. Okay.
A newbie offers a comprehensive set of services around the Bitcoin ecosystem
V4BTC: All right, great. Well, a newbie, I’ll start by describing how we approach this the, Bitcoin Way. What we do here is that we offer a very comprehensive set of, services around the Bitcoin ecosystem. Okay. I mean, we’re here to fast track the onboarding of individuals and businesses into the space properly, into self custody. And by that I mean we handle a lot of things that most people find intimidating, most newbies find intimidating, and from cold wallets nodes. How, do you purchase no KYC bitcoin? What about inheritance planning? How do I accept bitcoin payments into my business? All of these things are fundamentals that we cover a lot, at least in the beginning phase of every individual’s journey into bitcoin, because, they come in and they’re not really sure. Some of them are even intimidated to even admit that they don’t know anything, which is why they stay away. And so we’re trying to remove, the reasons for intimidations by letting them know that this is a safe space. There are no stupid questions at the bitcoin way, and, we will guide you from beginning to end. If you don’t want to do the technical aspects of what’s required, that’s okay, you don’t have to. If I’m working with you, I will do it for you, with you, obviously interactively. So, it’s a learning experience for you as well. and by the time we’re done, you’re completely bulletproof and airtight with what we’ve accomplished, and you will be comfortable, or very close to being 100% comfortable, to using it. I mean, the end objective here is to make sure you interact with bitcoin as seamlessly as you do a credit card, how to send, how to receive, and all that stuff. The only difference that, an individual have to get used to and accept is that now the onus of responsibility is on them. There’s no bank, there’s no third party, there’s nothing, to save you. I mean, if something goes wrong and the money is gone, it’s gone. There’s no refund button, there’s no manager, to complain to it’s end of the story. So we take a lot of measures, and precautions to prevent this. Okay? And I mean, which measures and precautions do we take? Well, that depends on every individual. There are no copy paste solutions that we deploy. We start the journey by having a conversation with everyone, and depending on the individual in question, we’ll formulate something that balances both security and practicality, in a way that makes sense for the individual. Because if they’re not a technical person, well, overcomplicating something, even though technically, yes, it is much more secure, is not the way to go, because they’re not going to understand anything. They’re likely to make a mistake somewhere along the way, and the result could be a very bad day, which is what we want to avoid at all costs. So this is what we do at the bitcoin way. And we are trying to raise a lot of awareness, to bring awareness to the fact that this type of service does exist, because we believe that there’s a massive demand for it, even though most folks may not realize it. Now, not everyone wants to watch a YouTube video for hours on end and attempt practicing trial and error. Most, people don’t have the patience for this. And that’s understandable, because Bitcoin is it if you don’t like it to begin with, well, watching a YouTube video, no matter how well it’s made, is not going to incentivize you, any further. So having someone that you can come to, someone that you can trust, someone that you can feel comfortable asking all your questions to do the work for you. And you learn along the way. And always know that if you forget something, you can always message, call back, get into a private, chat group with that individual in order to relieve, your anxiety. Answer your questions. Well, that’s available. This is what we do. This is what I’m here for, and this is my objective in this mission to help people. I hope that makes sense.
Libby: Yes. That’s amazing. That feels so natural for me, like, the way you are approaching this. in my case, I actually had a lot of help, learning about Bitcoin, because of my family. So I believe it’s, like, a more natural way to embrace this difficulty, because self sovereignty is amazing, but it really can be something that can, scare people. I really think you’re doing a great job.
V4BTC: Yeah. Thank you.
Self custody is definitely a new concept. Um, because of the technical aspects, it’s not hard
V4BTC: Self custody is definitely a new concept. Okay. And a lot of people make it seem a lot bigger than it actually is. because of the technical aspects, it’s not hard. No one is too stupid to learn how to do self custody. there’s a lot of ongoing marketing efforts that, try to mimic the convenience of the traditional system into Bitcoin. And these are services that I’m not a big fan of, because they’re not really abiding by what Bitcoin was created for. they are trying to sell the convenience of the traditional financial system under the assumption that most people are just going to come towards it, because that’s what they do. People are lazy. They want somebody else to take the responsibility. But if you’ve been following global events for the last few years, it’s very obvious that trusting anyone, especially with your money, is a suicide move. Because even if the intentions of third parties are good, bad things happen all the time that may not be in the control of those parties involved. So the more people you involve in your formula to secure your funds, well, then the higher the number of attack vectors that you have to deal with. So you have to be very careful with the approach that you take to securing your Bitcoin. cybersecurity. There’s no off the shelf solution for it, no matter what anyone tells you. That’s not true. The best form of security is the one I always advocate. The best form of security is the one no one knows about. If you’re chasing a ghost, you don’t know where to look. So your security model needs to be one that’s not popular. And this is what I help individuals with, okay? If everybody had, a solution that they could just buy for 1999, and everybody applied it, well, then that becomes like, brain dead, easy to exploit, eventually find a workaround and take, advantage of it. That’s not security.
Libby: Absolutely.
V4BTC: Yeah. And that’s a very important, thing to keep in mind for anyone getting into bitcoin that has one accepted the fact that now we’re in a new era. Now, obviously, we’re living in the tech age, but more specifically, now we are becoming our own banks. So this bank needs to be guarded with your life, okay? You can’t be lazy with it, you can’t take shortcuts about it, and more importantly, you need to keep it relevant. And by relevant, I mean up to date. bitcoin is a progressing technology, so every once in a while, there’s going to be new things coming out all the time. from a security standpoint, it’s not advice. Just jump in headfirst without thinking, obviously. at the bitcoin, we test a lot of things. Like, we test hardware, we test software. And based on a very strict series of tests and the results that we get from these tests, we put together lists of recommendations. And these are the recommendations that we put out to every individual that reaches out for help. we don’t sell anything. We don’t sell any hardware, we don’t sell any software. So we have no financial incentive to align ourselves with anyone. Okay? We are a pure knowledge based service here, and our function is to deliver the truth. Whether people like it or not, it doesn’t matter. We follow the bitcoin ethos. We stick to the bitcoin white paper. If it doesn’t suit the business model of some project, that’s too bad, because at the end of the day, bitcoin was created for the people, and we are here to ensure that every individual is as secure as they can possibly get. Okay? So if today there’s a list of, let’s say, four or five hardware wallets, or four or five nodes that are exceptionally good, then we recommend them. If at any point in time anyone at these project breaks the rules, we disqualify them instantly. And we notify everyone that we know is using them. We give them a heads up. So, for example, what do I mean by this? We’re using cold wallet or NodeX, for example, not to name any names. And then one day we discover that Node X, the people behind NodeX Well all of a sudden decided to engage in censorship or perhaps collaborate with chain analysis or do something stupid like that. Well, then we automatically disqualify them from all of our recommendations because we do not believe in anything, that sways from the Bitcoin Ethos. We either do it properly, as intended, as it was created, or just stay in Fiat. we’re not going to compromise in order to, satisfy a system that Bitcoin was designed to replace. So that’s a very important thing that we’re very keen on.
Libby: That’s amazing. Not everybody thinks, Ah, it’s like, doing it so well, keeping the Ethos alive in their work. And I think that’s, really something special that you’re doing. And, you got me wondering, because I think that, the current system wants us to be super lazy and scared because they have trained people to be this way, to benefit from this. So we have to untrain people in this new era of Bitcoin, and, break this myth that it’s super complicated and that only tech people can do it.
V4BTC: Yes, absolutely. To get into bitcoin properly and to actually stay in bitcoin, which is what you want to do if you’re coming into bitcoin to make a Fiat profit. You’re going to get destroyed at some point because no one is able to control bitcoin. Bitcoin’s volatility, at least at this point in time. they will not be able to control it. So anyone going into Bitcoin thinking that they’re going to make Fiat profit, one, is going into it for the wrong reasons, and two, there’s a very strong likelihood that they will end up with less than what they started with. So, part of the education is to really understand money. And that requires, it requires hours of dedication, first of all, to want to understand why you need to unlearn the lies that you’ve been told for decades and decades on end. And once you get to that stage, then absorbing the real information, the true information, becomes easier, because you don’t need convincing. You’re already open to receiving that information. So somebody who’s doing Bitcoin education is not here to sell you anything. At least if they’re doing it from the mindset that we’re coming from, like, when we talk to individuals, we’re not selling anything. I’m not selling you bitcoin, I’m not selling you a product, I’m not selling you anything. I am educating you to hopefully make you understand why Bitcoin is a big deal. Like the famous phrase, it’s bitcoin or slavery. It literally is bitcoin or slavery. And once that truly resonates with you, once it clicks as to why this is true, then that’s it it’ll be very hard for it to unclick. This is why those that have been in Bitcoin for the longest time, nothing will sway them. And the more, you watch things get progressively worse worldwide, the more it solidifies and deepens, your trust and hope, obviously, into this creation that we’ve never seen before.
When bitcoin was first created in 2008, 2009, many people ignored it
V4BTC: Okay. I mean, the world has never known anything like Bitcoin. Something that cannot be manipulated, controlled, whatever you want to call it, by a human being. It’s never existed. So, wrapping your head around that on its own, yes, is a big deal, and a lot of people are going to struggle with it, unfortunately, because of the predominant mind that it’s too good to be true, somehow a government’s going to come and screw it up. It’s not going to last. Something’s going to break, it’s going to get hacked. Like all the FUD that comes along. And I can tell you, from a tech perspective, all of these things would have been true in the very early days of bitcoin, okay? When bitcoin was first created in 2008, 2009, had people been paying real attention to it back then and really wanted to blow it up, technically, they probably would have, because we have not reached a level of decentralization and security that we’re at now. Okay? Luckily, obviously, I think luck had a lot to do with it. That it went under the radar, that most, dangerous actors, didn’t take it too seriously. They laughed at it, they ignored it. They’re like, whatever, this stupid thing, you know, it’s it’s a fad. It’s for geeks and nerds. It’s going to pass. And so, TikTok, 1415 years later, here we are, the bitcoin blockchain, decentralized as all hell, spread out all over the globe, secure like it’s never been before. And every ten minutes, it gets exponentially stronger, to the point where there’s no nation state that’s able to take it out on its own. It’s not just not going to happen. And the more they try, the more money they’re going to burn. And at some point, they will realize that all this effort is for nothing. That they would have actually made some bitcoin had they spent these funds not attacking it and trying to do something as retarded as that. but these facts, the general public has no idea about. I mean, for them, bitcoin is just this thing that’s out there used by Internet money, made by a certain cult of people. Perhaps it’s a religious following. We get called all sorts of things, but at some point, those that are living in the financially privileged parts of the world, their turn is coming. So as long as you don’t see that yourself, many people will have a hard time, believing it or taking action. I got into bitcoin, like, over five years ago, because I saw what the Fiat destruction does, okay? I mean, I witnessed firsthand what happened in Lebanon when everything went to hell, all right? I mean, you had people literally go to bed from one day to the next, bankrupt. and I’m not talking about just general folks. I’m talking about people that are considered extremely wealthy people, individuals with tens, hundreds of millions of dollars. Extremely powerful wealthy people, but normal people, okay? No one associated with the crooks in power, just regular people. They went to bed one night, they woke up the next day, boom, gone. So some might argue, okay? But Lebanon, it’s like a shithole. It’s been a war zone for 30 years, blah, blah, blah. That’s irrelevant, because fundamentally, the problem is a fiat problem, okay? And a fiat problem is a problem for every city of every country. They print it to oblivion. It’s manipulated by crooks. You have no control over it. It lasted for as long as it lasted because the problem wasn’t big enough yet. But now we’ve reached towards the end of the lifeline where things have gotten exponentially worse, exponentially faster. So it’s only a question of time before the, pain that was witnessed, the hyperinflation that blew up in Venezuela, in Argentina, in Lebanon, starts to manifest itself in other cities. Slowly but surely. It’s coming. I’m 100% convinced of it. It’s not a question of if, it’s just a question of when, but to try to tell people, warn people about this that don’t see it right away. I mean, when people get up, go on about their day, the sun is shining, you can have your coffee, you get together with your friends, you have your drinks. Life’s good. You’re not going to think about these things until you have to think about these things. And that’s exactly what happened to the folks in these countries. Them, too. They were out partying the night before and going to work and thinking, life’s good. And then they woke up the next day and the credit cards weren’t working. All right, so let’s call the bank, see what happened. Well, then there’s no answer at the bank. Okay, we’ll give it some time. It’ll resolve itself. Fast forward three years later. If you had a million dollars US in a bank in Lebanon, you’re now worth 200, $300. Congratulations. You are now bankrupt. So the psychological destruction that this does on a human being is not something I would wish on my worst enemy because, you cannot, Pretell how it’s going to manifest, but I can tell you it’s very dark. And this is something, this is the warning that more people need to be aware of, because you’re not immune. The US. Dollar may be the global reserve now, okay? The last cockroach to fall, but it’s going to fall. I mean, if they’re printing trillions of dollars at the rate that they’re printing it, it’s a mathematical certainty. It doesn’t take rocket science. And more people need to be aware of this and stop thinking of this as some sort of conspiracy theory, because it’s not.
Libby: Yeah. How do you think we could I’m afraid of Normies, because people who have heard of Bitcoin as it’s getting interested, I think they will get there. But how would one, approach the regular people who is like, they never believe this will happen to them? Like, everyone hears the stories of Lebanon, Venezuela, Argentina, but you never think it’s going to happen in your own, country.
V4BTC: Yes, but I mean, it’s starting to happen now? Because like I said, things are getting progressively worse. If you look for the last just two, three years when the whole world was locked down, at some point, m, a normal person is going to start questioning how that’s even possible, considering all the facts that came out now, that validate that the whole thing was a coordinated attack on humanity. Okay? So these things, slowly but surely, even the most resistant human being at some point is going to encounter something that screws them. And when that happens, they’re going to react. And the way things are progressing, I don’t think it’s going to take that long for these things to happen. I mean, let me ask you this. If you went to bed today and you woke up tomorrow and your bank account they told you was frozen for technical reasons, for whatever period of time, what would you do? Like, what would you think?
Libby: No, that’s a nightmare.
Bank accounts are supposedly insured right up to a certain amount
V4BTC: Okay. All right. Bank accounts are supposedly insured right up to a certain amount. But did you know that the insurance companies insuring these banks? What if they go bankrupt? Have you ever considered that? Because this is what’s happening. So if the company that’s insuring your bank account up to 100,000, 250,000, whatever it is, depending where you are on the road, if they go out of business, so what happens to you? What happens to your money that’s supposedly insured? Who’s going to pay for it? Right?
Libby: It’s really frightening.
V4BTC: Okay? Yeah. All right, well, these are the scenarios that nobody talks about. These are the scenarios that the mainstream media avoids at all costs. Okay. but this is the information that the general public needs to be aware of. Because when your turn comes, you’re going to go through that storm. So how do you protect against it? Traditionally, you had no option because anything physical can be either manipulated or taken away from you. This is why this bitcoin is such a big deal. Because it’s never existed in the history of mankind. That there is this asset that nobody can control that, it’s completely permissionless trustless. And this is why ultimately, at some point, this will end up being the standard. Because human nature is what it is. Nobody trusts each other. You think governments trust one another? They’re going to try to hold on to whatever power they can. At some point, they’re all going to fail. So they’re going to have to decide on something. So are they going to decide on a commodity or an asset or something that they know another country has more of? Of course not. Either they’re going to kill each other to try to, fight who’s going to get more, or it’s going to be like an eternal conflict until they finally realize, hold on a second, there’s this thing now that nobody can control, no matter how much of it they own. That makes sense, right? This is why? I think ultimately, all these countries, and I’m sure a lot of them are already doing it without saying a single word. They’re all hoarding it or all accumulating it. Because if not for the immediate use, like in the immediate short term as an insurance policy, that if all other things fail. We have this. Because like I said, it all comes down to trust. And since none of them trust each other, the only thing they will agree on is something that they know the other one can’t screw around with. And since the supply of bitcoin is finite, the scarcity of the asset becomes much more apparent at that point in time, and those that have it, are holding it well. That’s where that whole generational wealth comes in and all that stuff. But bitcoin is about way more than this. The becoming rich part, at least as far as we’re concerned, it’s a side effect that’s like the last on your list. The way the world is headed now, I believe we’re under assault. We’re being attacked. Human, beings, the general public is under attack. Your sovereignty, your freedom is all under attack. I mean, if you don’t realize this by now, you’ve got serious problems. Because either you fall into the camp that you don’t care. I’m happy living my life dictated by someone, okay, some people are going to be happy like this. It is what it is. But there’s a lot more people that are not going to accept this. I know I won’t. Can you imagine spending all your life working? Right? You’re an honest human being. You’re working day and night. Life savings in a bank account, planning for the future. You want a family, you have kids. None of your money is under your control. Some asshole wakes up one day and decides you’re a terrorist. Or you’re doing something now that’s illegal. Boom. Lock your account, funds gone. What do you do? How do you accept putting all your time and energy into something that one is debasing at, ah, an alarming rate? But more importantly, that’s not in your control. That’s in the control of someone that absolutely hates you. If you think about it just along these lines, I think a lot more people might start becoming more receptive as to why bitcoin was created. Bitcoin was literally created to save you. Because if you have no money, bitcoin, is about money. So every human being on the planet needs it. It’s not an option. It’s not a luxury item. You’re not buying a table, a chair, a car. You absolutely need money to survive. Without it, there’s nothing you can do without money. You are not a free individual, that’s for sure. So if you’re going to sacrifice your time and energy to be a productive member of society, well then your reward should be money that is yours, that you hundred percent own, that nobody can take away from you for any reason. And, like, 100 years from now, once this whole thing becomes, like, a bitcoin standard, whenever they study history, like, let’s say 100 years from now, they’re probably going to laugh at us as we must have been the dumbest fucking race. Like, ah, human species to use money that somebody else was manipulating and dictating what you can and cannot do with it’s. That big of a deal. But because you’ve been brainwashed, because we’ve been fed all these conveniences throughout these decades and decades, most people don’t think most people don’t read most people.
Self custody requires discipline to protect your money. It’s an effort. You have to do the work
Libby: This space was downloaded via Spacesdown.com. Visit to download your spaces.
V4BTC: Today, they take, the path of least resistance, which is the lazy road. And self custody is definitely not part of the lazy road. Self custody requires you to sit down, learn and apply, and make sure you stay relevant. It’s an effort. It’s work. You have to do the work. Proof of work also applies to the discipline required to protect your money. Because if you don’t do it, they’re going to take it away from you. It’s that simple. You either go through door A, self custody and sovereignty, or door B, slavery. Pick which one suits your lifestyle more and how they’re going to do it. How they’re going to do it. I mean, anything is possible. But here’s my theory. This is what I think what’s going to happen. And I don’t know if I’ve mentioned this to you before, but this is what I think is going to happen. There’s going to be an event, some sort of retarded events, some sort of cyber attack, something as insane as that, where all your accounts are closed or unaccessible for, whatever a certain period of time, the mainstream media is going to announce that, oh, my God, it was a bad terrorist attack, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, the whole shebang. And then all of a sudden, they’re going to leave it like this for a little while so that you really stress out maybe one, two, three days, maybe a week, where the panic really sets in. People have no money. They’re hungry, they want to eat. The civil unrest starts to boil a bit. And then all of a sudden, they’re going to tell you, you know what? We found the fix. We found the fix. We’re able to make everybody whole. But we’re going to take your savings. We’re not going to give it to you in euros or dollars anymore. We’re going to give it to you as this. And this being the central bank digital currency. So most people, most unaware people, oh, my God, thank goodness my money is there. I’m not going to lose anything, right? On the surface, the saviors came to help the people. But if you know anything about a central bank digital currency, you know that your life as you know it as a free person is over. Because a central bank. Digital currency is all the tyranny, of fiat on steroids. If I’m controlling a central bank digital currency, I don’t like you. For whatever reason. I’ll turn your money off. I don’t even have to see you. I don’t even have to talk to you. I don’t even have to notify you. I hit one button on my keyboard, you’re done. You don’t think it’s going to happen? It’s happening already. Go. Look at China.
Libby: Yeah, and not so far. Even I’ve heard stories that it’s happening also in other countries, and people are getting their accounts frozen, not, just in this collaboration between, I don’t know, banks and government. and they’re really struggling. And this is people with, connections that are getting no bank access, so they can’t access their accounts, and the money has been frozen. And, it really sounds terrifying, but, it’s getting real.
V4BTC: It’s very real. It happened a few years ago in Canada. Innocent people got their bank accounts illegally frozen. Illegally frozen. So if governments are not following the law, then what’s the point of having them? Are they decorative? If the government is not following the law, if they’re coming up with their own rules to justify whatever it is that they want to do, so then if they can do it, why can’t everybody else do it? Let’s have a free for all. What kind of chaos would that result in? Because that’s exactly what happened. Everything that happened was illegal. None of it was in the law, but it still happened.
Libby: It’s crazy when you think that the law applies only for some people, not for everybody.
V4BTC: Well, here’s the thing, because traditionally, freedom, freedom in the historical sense, if you think of it that way, can only be protected in one way, at least historically. And that way is through violence. There’s no other way. So when the governments own the armies and the police and all that, like, what are you going to do? Or at least that’s what most people think. But when things get bad enough, historically, governments have been toppled over by extremely violent civil unrest in many countries. It’s nothing new. Just read a few history books. It’s all there. Now we have a way to defund this corruption. Okay? I mean, how? How does all this tyranny actually exist? Well, if you have access to a money printer, well, you need money to do whatever you want. Okay? Just print it. No problem. So you print and you can fund wars, you can fund attacks, you can fund whatever you want. Sky’s the limit. But unfortunately, that club doesn’t belong to the general public. It belongs to, like, a 1% of the population. So if you’re not part of that club, and you’re not well, then you’re at the other end of that stick. You’re at the receiving end. Okay? So as long as you’re using that product, the product, the fiat currency, unfortunately, you’re stuck in a system that, is playing by rules that are not made by you. And for sure, they’re not made for you. They are made to keep you stuck in a system that’s controlled by somebody else for the benefit of somebody else. But now you have bitcoin, the only exit out of that system.
Bitcoin was designed to be held in self custody, but you are responsible
V4BTC: So you don’t want to play by these rules. You have an exit, but you have to take it. No one’s going to put you on that path. You have to want to opt out. If you don’t like the way the world is headed, so leave. Opt out. Not 100%. Like, no one’s saying it’s a light switch. That’s insane. But at least start taking steps to opt out, because what else are you going to do? Physical assets, at least the way I see them now, can be taken away from you unless you have an army to protect it. Okay. And then it comes down to which army is bigger. So some folks come. Yeah, but with the argument about yona the whole safeguarding in real estate, safeguarding in gold and all that stuff. Traditionally, yes, those were valid options because that’s all we had. It’s not like because they were, like, the perfect solution. No, far from it. But that’s all we had. There was nothing else. There were certain things that, yes, performed better than the rate of inflation and all that fine, but we’re not living in the same times anymore. We are living in very different times now. When things get extremely bad, extreme things can happen and will happen. So if you’ve got five apartment buildings and, you think you’re good to go, your money is safe. Right? Five apartment buildings. I’m solid. A group of five guys come up to you with guns and tell you, get out. What are you going to tell them? You’re going to argue that legally they belong to you because a piece of paper has your name on it. They’re going to give you 10 seconds to leave. Otherwise, it’s a different ending to that story. You don’t think something like this would happen? It’s happened before. I know it’s happened before because it’s happened to my parents. So these things are not in the movies. Only these things. It’s real life. When things get bad enough, you have to expect all sorts of insanity, and you need to protect yourself against this. Bitcoin is the peaceful revolution. It’s an option to opt out of the money into something that’s pure, that’s trustless, permissionless that you verifiably open source. You can see everything about. It’s a transparent it’s transparent. It’s all there. And that you know for sure that whatever you own in bitcoin is yours. And it’s an appreciating asset, not a depreciating one. No one’s going to print it to oblivion. Maximum supply is 21 million. Realistically, there’s less than 21 million with all those that have been already lost. I don’t know. I think maybe we’re like around 1616, 17 million. Who knows? Something around there which adds even more to the scarcity of the asset. So what’s the best way to protect this? The bitcoin was designed to be held in self custody, but, yes, that means you, the individual, are 100% responsible for it. So how do you become responsible for it? well, it’s very easy. You sit down and you learn how to become responsible for it. Is it hard? No, it’s not hard. Is it new? Yes, it’s new. But you drive a car every day. You weren’t born a driver. You learned how to drive. when mothers give birth, that’s like exponentially harder than self custody. But they still do it, right? Nobody’s afraid of it. They still do it. And now there are resources to teach you self custody properly. And this is what we’re doing at the bitcoin way. I mean, we’re removing literally, if you don’t want to do any of the technical work, you don’t have to. I will do it all for you, and I will explain it to you every step of the way as we do it. This way, by the end of the session, you’re like, that wasn’t so bad. And I’m like, yeah, I know. It’s not so bad.
To achieve full sovereignty, privacy at the base layer, you need two things
Libby: Yeah, it’s to lose the fear.
V4BTC: Yes. I think the fear of the unknown, that’s a common fear. That’s expected. That’s fine, but we talk plain English, okay? Like when I’m consulting with an individual, a one to one consult. I’m not talking in technical terms. If I were to work with you, for example, I would talk to you like a five year old just to make sure that you understand every single word that’s coming out of my mouth so that you are solidified in the education that I’m giving. Like I’m trying to communicate to you because I need you to walk away knowing that, one, your funds are safe, but two, you know how to use them. If you have questions, obviously you can always reach out whenever you want. That’s not the problem. But, for the most part, you’re autonomous. You’re sovereign, you’re private. And to achieve full sovereignty, and privacy at the base layer, you need two things. You need a cold wallet set up, ultra secure. We default to air gapped, configurations where your device never goes online. And you need a bitcoin node. Many people skip the node. They shouldn’t skip the node, because without the node, you are not 100% sovereign or private, because without the node, you’re leaving trails of everything you own, everything you buy, everything you sell on public servers on somebody else’s node. You may not think it’s a big deal now, because whatever bitcoin is 26 grand, when bitcoin becomes worth hundreds and billions of dollars, trust me, you’re going to care and you’re going to wish you had a node where everything about your life, money wise, bitcoin wise, is as private and invisible as possible. So you don’t want to wait until the panic sets in. You want to be set up now when no one’s paying attention, so that when the panic sets in, you’re still sleeping like a baby.
Libby: Absolutely.
Do you help individuals put together inheritance plans? Yes, absolutely
Libby: And I’m also thinking about this, generational wealth. Like, you have to be thinking ahead. This is not just for you. This is something that’s going to last many years after we are all gone. Do you also teach, this kind of stuff?
V4BTC: Yes, absolutely. we help individuals put together inheritance plans. And again, these inheritance plans, they’re all customized. There’s nothing off the shelf in the way we approach these things. We’ll sit down with each one, get to know them a little more, ask questions. obviously, the individuals involved in the inheritance plan, everyone usually, ideally should be present because it’s also an educational session for all parties involved. And based on how well we get to know each other, we will put together a plan that is bulletproof, but that’s also usable, which is even more important than the bulletproof part, because you need to know how to use it, you need to know how to access it. And it’s going to be unique to you. Sure, maybe there’s like, some commonality with someone else, but there’s going to be certain nuances, enough nuances that no one’s going to be able to copy paste, a set up. Like, for example, if I’ve set up a plan for individual A, he’s not going to be able to take his plan and apply it to you, for example, if he had bad intentions, because there’s going to be something about your setup that’s missing in his setup which completely nullifies any bad intentions from his end. And these details we think about all of these things all the time, in all aspects of all consults. Okay? I mean, this is where the 25 years of cybersecurity and encryption I bring a lot of that stuff into this space. So there’s a lot of details that perhaps I just think about instinctively that others may not simply because they don’t come from that type of background and that type of experience. And fundamentally, again, like I said, the best security is the one that no one knows about. It doesn’t need to be super complex. It needs to be something that only you know, or a very small number of people in your absolute trusted circle that know it. That’s how you protect your wealth. This is how you protect what’s supposed to be the most, important thing in your life your money. Because like I said, if it’s gone, it’s gone. There’s no bringing it back unless somebody gives you a donation. But to call someone to get it back, that’s not going to happen. And that’s a good thing, in my opinion, because it forces you to become a better human being, a more disciplined human being with the things that matter.
Libby: Yes. To take responsibility at the end, of course.
Tony: Many people question how to protect their digital keys from theft
Libby: Tony, I was wondering if someone of the people who are here with us, listening wanted to ask you a question, or if they want to comment on what we’re talking. I made invitations for anyone who would like to speak. And, you can interrupt us whenever we are just chatting and, getting to know each other better and talking about this thing, that we are all passionate about.
V4BTC: Yeah, absolutely. Blast away.
Speaker D: I’ll tune in a little bit more in about 15 minutes. I’m just at work still. I’m about to be on lunch in a little bit. but I guess just to even add to that, to what you were saying earlier about, if you have five properties and somebody came to you, ah, with a gun and let’s say, on the other hand, you had your keys, or you had your own bitcoin. The difference is, too, that, I guess, with that house that house at the end of the day, it will be taken from you. it can be taken from you. Even if you buy the house in some country somewhere, if you make the wrong person mad, he will come in and take your house from you and take everything else from you, and then your keys. On the other hand, if somebody came up to you and threatened you for that, technically you can go down with your keys and those keys will actually be lost forever. And again, it’s the idea nobody can take that from you. It’s the only thing, on this planet that nobody can really take it from you, especially if you don’t give it to them. but I’ll join in more in about ten minutes. But I just wanted to add that to that point that you were saying earlier.
V4BTC: Yeah, absolutely. it’s a very valid point, and it’s, one that not many people think about in that light, because, again, it’s under the false assumption that this will never happen to me because I live here and not there. Yes, okay, fine, that may be true now, but when things go bad, they go bad really fast. And by the time you realize that, you may not be in the position, to save yourself. That’s the problem. Okay? So in the same way that people, smart people accumulate during a bear market, smart people will also take measures to protect themselves when things are still stable. So you don’t want to wait until all hell breaks loose to panic and try to find the fix. That’s where your hastiness is going to lead to many accidents, many mistakes, and likely not the outcome that you were looking for. So, yeah, that’s very important, with self custody, there’s also many ways to protect yourself. a lot of questions I get asked, for example, okay, so how do I protect my keys. How do I do it? I have a seat plate. am I good? Yeah, I think I’m good. All right. Okay, fine. You have a seat plate. Yeah. Technically, the seat plate is fantastic. Most of them do the work that they were designed to do. They will protect against fire, water and all that stuff. It’s great. But at the end of the day, it’s still a physical item. Right? So, depending on where you are, where you live, your risk situation, is that physical item safe? Have you secured it somewhere that no one can find? Have you secured it somewhere that no one can steal? Right. I mean, you have to ask these questions. So all of these details. We try to formulate a plan, that diversifies, the security aspect of self custody while minimizing, single, risks while keeping it all usable. Some people don’t like the digital aspect of saving keys digitally, and I understand why. But done properly, done with best practices, implemented in place, something digital is a lot more usable than something physical. I mean, with something digital that’s encrypted, for example, and set up properly in a specific way, you can transport, you can even remove. Like, for example, if you have some sensitive information on your phone, you can delete it, travel from point A to point B, where you think you’re going to be possibly harassed, for that information, or possibly coerced to give it up, remove it, and then when you arrive at your destination, just restore it. You can’t do this with a physical item? Not as easily anyhow, unless that physical item is hidden in a way that’s so inconspicuous that it goes unnoticed. But most people will not, put that much thought into this, which is why accidents, usually tend to happen. Does that make sense?
Libby: It yes, I think, but it’s really hard.
You got me wondering, uh, what would be the best approach I was trusting so much in
Libby: You got me wondering, what would be the best approach I was trusting so much in the metal plate.
V4BTC: well, the best approach is one right now. We can’t really get into it because it’s really personalized to you. But I’m just speaking generally. The metal plate itself is a fantastic product. There’s no denying it. I mean, there’s a lot of amazing companies with a really amazing product. That’s not the problem. The problem is, after you get through that whole amazing product, that you have it’s on you to protect it. The companies who sold it to you, their job is done. They gave you a product that does what it’s designed to do. Now you have to protect that product. So do you have a plan in place to do so? If you’re hesitating, then your answer is no. There is no perfect solution. Okay, let me just put it this way. There is no 100% bulletproof solution. It doesn’t exist. But what there is, is making something that’s unique to you, that cannot be like, found or guessed. Does that make sense?
Libby: Yes, absolutely.
V4BTC: And this is the type of thing that we work on, like we work with individuals to get to, so that at the end of the day, they have a personalized security model that’s unique to them. Not something that’s a copy paste answer that you can find on the internet somewhere that doesn’t work. Because anybody can google security and creativity. They go hand in hand. So you have to think outside the box sometimes to apply, security protocols that are actually effective.
Speaker E: hi Tony, thank you so much for the lecture. Can you hear me?
V4BTC: Yes, absolutely.
Speaker E: Yes.
Is there a way to hack hardware wallets without exposing seed words
Speaker E: I have a question for you since you’re in cybersecurity. is there a way where somebody can hack hardware, wallet without exposing their, seed words? Like, is there any other way where somebody can hack it? This is my question. you mentioned something about air gapped hardware, wallets. So let’s say if you have a wallet that connects through a USB port, for example, is there a way that somebody could hack that wallet without you exposing the seed words?
V4BTC: Yes, absolutely there is. when you connect a device to your computer, your computer needs to be airtight as well. all the elements around your Bitcoin, they matter. So what do I mean by this? Your Bitcoin ecosystem, it’s not just your wallet and your node, because you need a computer to interface with all that stuff, right? If your computer is compromised, then even if you have the best security measures implemented on your cold wallet, and you connected it to that computer, you’re done.
Speaker E: But, the phrase is on the hardware wallet itself, right? So it doesn’t go, online. That’s what I know. It’s in cold storage. So basically, how would they have.
V4BTC: Well, first of all, it depends on your cold wallet. Depends? if there’s a weakness in the firmware of that cold wallet, depending on the model, I mean, there’s many nuances, many circumstances, many things that can come into play here. if you save your seat phrase, for example, on your computer, even somewhere secure on your computer, but your computer itself is compromised, well, then all of that security is for nothing, right? Yeah.
USB cables contain malicious software that can take complete control over your computer
V4BTC: And here’s one thing that, has been coming up a lot. I’ve been discussing with people that most are really unaware of. When you buy cables for your computer, where do you buy them from? Right. Okay, so did you know that there are, for example, USB cables that are visually indistinguishable from original cables, But these cables contain malicious, software, like a, ah, remote web server inside of them that will take complete control of the machine that it’s plugged into. And that includes microphone, that includes camera, that includes keyloggers, everything. If somebody sells you a USB M cable looks exactly like your Apple or Android one doesn’t matter. You take it and you plug it into your computer and that cable itself is infected. Whoever is behind that cable has full control over your system and you will have no idea because it’ll function as, ah, a USB cable. It’ll do everything the USB cable was designed to do. So you will have absolutely zero idea that you’re infected. That’s very scary. Well, it’s very true, it’s very real and this is what’s happening. So we go as far as consulting on these things for those that believe that their risk model warrants it.
You can minimize the risk considerably by making your due diligence properly
V4BTC: All right, so this is where, the differences in applying certain cybersecurity measures becomes valuable. What’s your net worth worth to you? Do you care or do you not care? If you care, you will take these extra steps to make sure that you are as safe as possible. There’s nothing 100%, but you can minimize the risk considerably by making your due diligence properly. Right.
Speaker E: And ah, another question for you. Let’s say you had two options where you can actually distribute your net worth through different hardware wallets or use, for example, a multisig solution.
V4BTC: Which one would you choose? Well, that depends. Again, the multisig. Are you the sole owner of these? yes. Okay. Are you storing them in the same location or at different locations?
Speaker E: Different locations.
V4BTC: Okay. Do you have full control over these locations at all times?
Speaker E: Yes, 100%.
V4BTC: Okay, well then in that case, the security model is obviously a better one than being in one place, assuming you don’t lose access to any one of these other places or they don’t get compromised in some way, shape or form. Right. But keep in mind, if you are going down that road, then the coins that you are, protecting in that setup are not immediately accessible to you if you happen to have, I don’t know, hypothetically speaking, you’re doing this set up, it’s super secure, you’re very happy, life’s good. You get an emergency, you need access to your funds now. How do you do it? Okay, so this is the type of scenario. It may not happen, but as an advisor, I have to make you aware of the possibility that it could happen. And if it does happen, what’s your solution? Do you have one? Right, okay, so these are the type of questions that we go over in every consult and we spent the time that it’s required to get somewhere where you’re happy and the security model is good. But more importantly that you can always apply the proper measures based on that security model that we’ve customized together. Follow. Yeah, technically yes, absolutely. Multi SIG is more secure than single SIG. There’s no denying that. No one’s going to dispute that whatsoever. But it does add a layer of complexity that you need to be aware of. If you’re able to deal with it amazing. If you can’t, it’s not for you and I’ve said it before in some videos that I’ve posted online, that I don’t think multisig is a solution for 80% to 90% of the world population. They’re going to screw it up somehow, somewhere.
Speaker E: Do you think the majority of people are using single or multi? Like, let’s say, the people who have a lot of bitcoin, let’s say, are they using a multi SIG solution mainly, based on your knowledge?
V4BTC: It’s hard to tell. If these are technical people, then probably yes. If these are people like myself, I would use a multi SIG because I know exactly how to handle it. But here’s the thing. I know how to handle it. If I have kids and I’m leaving it to them and they’re complete noobs, then it’s not the right solution, because how are they going to access it afterwards? They’ll have no idea what to do. Yeah, unless there’s someone that I’ve put in position of trust to explain it to them, but then he or she becomes the weak link. Yeah. See what I mean? Yeah.
Speaker E: Well, thank you for the explanation. That’s all from my side.
V4BTC: No problem. Anytime. My pleasure.
Libby: Are there any other questions you would like to ask Tony? Anyone?
Tony: Which are the top three hardware wallets that you recommend using
Libby: Okay, so we have been here for, like, an hour, so I don’t want to keep stealing time from you, Tony, but I want to thank you, and this was really fun. I hope you also enjoyed it.
V4BTC: Yeah, it was great. It was great.
Speaker E: Tony, sorry. just one more question, please. the last question, and it’s going to be a very short one. I don’t know if it’s suitable for you to say it here, but which, let’s say the top three hardware wallets that you recommend using.
V4BTC: Listen, there’s a lot, but I’ll tell you this. we only work with open source or verifiable source hardware. Anything outside of this, we don’t touch. So, there’s a lot of them on the market. I mean, if you want to know specifically, we can get on a one to one call. I’ll, happily discuss this with you, but, there’s a lot of options out there. here’s the thing. We only work with open source or verifiable source, and bitcoin only. Okay? Bitcoin only. And there’s a very specific reason why it’s bitcoin only is because when you start to support many other cryptos on the hardware wallet, your software becomes more susceptible, ah, to attack vectors, because you have to support many more things. So when you focus on bitcoin only, well, you eliminate that problem. You don’t have to deal with it anymore. Again, you minimize the attack vectors on your most valuable asset, which is always what you want, right? Yeah.
Speaker E: Thank you very much.
V4BTC: No problem.
Tony offers free 30 minutes introduction call to anyone with bitcoin questions
Libby: Tony, is there any, final tip you would like to give us before we close this?
V4BTC: You know, it’s bitcoin or slavery. It comes down to this. If you have any questions, I mean, you’re welcome to. I’m very active on Twitter. you can follow me directly. That’s my handle. The V. Four BTC. There’s also, obviously, the Bitcoin way underscore that’s also, a very active account. We post a lot of very valuable information on this, ah, at all times. we offer free 30 minutes introduction call to anyone. So if you have any questions at any point in time you’re not sure about whatever it is, book a call costs you nothing. 1st 30 minutes, are completely free. I’ll happily get on a call with you, answer all your questions, concerns, and what have you, and if you want to move forward with a one to one thereafter, we’ll absolutely arrange it and proceed forward. The idea here is to protect your funds. But before we get to that stage, you need to understand why it’s important to do this. Once it clicks and you will fully understand and the rest becomes easy.
Libby: That’s amazing. So, everybody, you have 30 minutes for free with Tony. He can answer your questions, make sure to follow him, to follow us, to follow the Bitcoin way. And, we hope to get to do this again soon.
V4BTC: Yeah, absolutely. It’s a lot of fun, a lot of knowledge. If you, guys have any questions that we didn’t cover now, save it for next time or get on a call and we’ll cover it that way.
Libby: Absolutely.
Thank you so much, Tony. Great talking to all of you.
Libby: Thank you so much, Tony.
V4BTC: All right, guys.
Speaker E: Thank you you thank you, Connie.
V4BTC: Great talking to all of you. Catch you soon. Bye bye bye.
END
Book a free 30-minute call with Tony and the rest of the team here loveisbitcoin.com/call
Get a hardware wallet to self-custody like a pro right here. Tony prefers the Coldcard or any of the other open source options like Bitbox and Jade. https://loveisbitcoin.com/wallets
