S6 E10: Shilling Lightning to the Moon with John Carvalho

It’s been almost two years since John Carvalho first appeared in the Bitcoin Takeover Podcast – and in the meantime he has become what he likes to call “the Lightning Network business developer that nobody has asked for”. Carvalho’s new specialization is Bitcoin’s second layer, and since we last spoke he took the time to learn the ins and outs of the system and its economic incentives.

He spent longer than a year building the circular economy with Bitrefill, and more recently he decided to go his separate way and create a company that better projects his philosophy. We don’t know his venture’s name, but some of the job listings suggest that it’s focusing on the development of Bitcoin and Lightning wallets which support Layer 3 RGB tokens. In the coming weeks, John is planning to also launch his own podcast (The ₿iz Podcast).

This episode was recorded on day 2 of the Paralelni Polis 2020 conference, and it covers some of the most pressing issues which concern the Lightning Network. I asked John to shill Lightning to the Moon – but instead of being a hype man, he pointed out to the cultural aspects that bitcoiners need to change in order to have a successful second layer and extend Bitcoin’s role as a mean of exchange.

John Carvalho thinks that the Lightning Network is ready, but the Bitcoin community isn’t. Therefore, he believes that taking Lightning to the moon requires a change of culture.

Furthermore, Carvalho talks about the reasons why you should (and shouldn’t run) a Lightning node, how the Lightning routing is getting improved, and why some companies keep on opening channels in spite of the second layer’s slow growth.

Listen to the January 2019 interview with John Carvalho in Bitcoin Takeover S1 E2!

Listen to John Carvalho shill Lightning to the Moon on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube!

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