S16 E48: Christopher Smith on Quantus, Bitcoin & Quantum Resistance

Christopher Smith (aka Yuvi Lightman, aka Ganesha 1024) is the founder of the Quantus network: an mbitious quantum-zk blockchain which he proudly built with his team in just 6 months, with a budget of $500k.

In this episode we talk about the threat of quantum computing, how quantum resistant cryptography works, and how Bitcoin can be saved from a potential disaster.

Time stamps:
00:01:31 - Introducing Christopher Smith (Yuvi Lightman), known on Soundcloud Music as Ganesha1024
00:02:22 - Quantis: Zero-Knowledge Quantum-Resistant Blockchain
00:02:39 - Christopher's Background, Early Bitcoin Involvement
00:03:41 - Current Views on Bitcoin, All-Time High at $125K
00:04:19 - Discovering Bitcoin in 2012, Contributions to BitcoinJ
00:04:36 - Founding BitMesh: Micropayments via Payment Channels
00:04:42 - Mike Hearn and Payment Channels
00:05:17 - Bitcoin Whitepaper Praise, Satoshi's Genius
00:05:55 - Essence of Money, Overcomplication Critique
00:06:49 - Bitcoin's Corporate Takeover, Cultural Ethos
00:08:38 - SegWit Changes, Big Block Debate
00:09:45 - Bitcoin Cash Sympathy, Shift to Ethereum
00:10:41 - Vitalik Buterin and Gavin Wood as Geniuses
00:10:53 - Lunar Startup: Blockchain Wikipedia with ICO
00:11:08 - Bitcoin Threats: Throughput, Privacy, Quantum Security
00:11:29 - Child Porn Blackmail Tactics in Debates
00:12:18 - Social Bottlenecks in Coordination
00:13:09 - BTC Token vs Network Separation via ETFs
00:14:06 - Proof of Keys Day by Trace Mayer
00:15:23 - No Trusted Third Parties Philosophy
00:16:04 - Cryptography as Military Tech
00:18:04 - Open Source Importance, ERC20 Simplicity
00:19:21 - BlackRock as Central Bank, Cult of Saturn Symbolism
00:20:17 - Bitcoin Threats: Throughput with Shai Reference
00:22:50 - Privacy and Zcash Praise
00:23:32 - Quantus as Bitcoin Fork with Falcon Signatures
00:24:50 - Solana as Big Blocker Inheritor
00:25:04 - Overton Window Constraints
00:26:41 - Quantus Timelines Skepticism, PsiQuantum Investment
00:28:14 - Ethereum Proof of Stake, Stablecoin Control
00:29:27 - Catholic Church Analogy, Satoshi's Time-Buying Quote
00:30:04 - Weaponized Schizophrenia Concept
00:31:09 - Schizophrenia as Catch-All, LSD Benefits
00:32:21 - False Positives/Negatives in Machine Learning
00:33:34 - Arbitrary Thresholds in Science/Medicine/Physics
00:34:46 - Autistic Definitions, Bitcoin Redefinition
00:36:25 - Douglas Hofstadter's Godel Escher Bach Inspiration
00:37:32 - Ads: Bitcoin.com News
00:38:39 - Citrea: ZK Rollup on Bitcoin
00:40:21 - BIP300 Drivechains by Paul Sztorc
00:41:53 - Hacker Ethos, L2 Complexity Critique
00:43:27 - Lightning Network Failures
00:44:22 - Open Source vs Closed Source Thought Experiment
00:47:00 - Check Phrase for Security
01:00:00 - Quantum Mechanics Wave Function Collapse
02:02:17 - Chris Doesn't Sound Like Typical Founder
02:02:50 - Quantus Features: Reversible Transactions
02:05:23 - Check Phrase Innovation
02:07:29 - HD Wallets for Lattice Cryptography, QIPs
02:08:46 - Pro-Social to Industry, Ethereum Ethos
02:09:00 - Ross Ulbricht on Blockchain Decentralization
02:10:00 - Bitcoin Maximalism Critique
02:10:34 - Satoshi on ZK Proofs Efficiency
02:11:01 - Grin Fair Launch, Kaspa DAG Innovation
02:12:16 - Zcash Innovations, ZK Snarks
02:13:25 - Libraries from Zcash, Fluffy Pony Dismissal
02:14:07 - Zcash Made ZK Practical
02:15:36 - Ethereum Net Positive Despite Mess
02:16:04 - Stablecoins as Freezable CBDCs
02:18:19 - Eye-Openers: Iran Banking Struggles, Argentina Tether Use
02:20:40 - COVID Psychology Lessons
02:22:27 - QE Money Printing Realization
02:23:33 - Legal vs Moral, COVID Non-Compliance
02:25:13 - Forgetting COVID Coercion
02:26:36 - Psychedelic Community Enforcement
02:27:47 - Nature's Cruelty
02:28:55 - Vaccine Divisions
02:30:02 - Each Vaccine Unique, Pavlov's Association
02:31:03 - Freedom License Concept
02:32:01 - Agency and Responsibility
02:34:05 - Frustrated Developers, Utility Missed
02:35:07 - User Adoption Challenges
02:36:01 - Funnel for Adoption, Co-Founder Complement
02:37:38 - Check Phrase for Wallets
02:39:04 - Plato on Politics
02:39:46 - Habeas Corpus History
02:40:40 - Optimism: Sunlight, World Complexity
02:41:36 - Manifesting Intentions
02:42:28 - Soundcloud Recommendation, Quantus Docs
02:43:02 - Music Like Pink Floyd's Great Gig in the Sky
02:44:47 - Amir Taaki 7-Hour Record
02:45:43 - Zooko's 6-Hour Interview
02:46:47 - WeaponizedSchizophrenia.com Blog
02:47:00 - Closing Words