Inside Bitcoin’s Early Days | Pete Rizzo and Charlie Shrem

Empire

In today's episode Jason is joined by Bitcoin early adopters, Pete Rizzo and Charlie Shrem. They dive into the early days of Bitcoin from 2011-2014, covering topics like the origins of BitInstant, Charlie's experience being arrested, the Mt. Gox hack, and the start of the block size wars. Charlie and Pete share insider stories and insights from their unique vantage points, having been involved in Bitcoin from its very early stages. They touch on the cultural divide between the Bitcoin and broader crypto communities and look towards the future of ordinals. Stay tuned for all of this and much more!

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Follow Pete: https://twitter.com/pete_rizzo

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Monad is a fully EVM compatible Layer 1 blockchain that can support 10,000 real transactions per second. Monad aims to open up the design space for the EVM to support high fidelity defi, consumer facing applications, and more generally allow crypto to scale to the masses.

If you are interested in participating in Monad's journey,

follow: https://twitter.com/monad_xyz and join: https://discord.gg/monad

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Timestamps:

(00:00) Intro

(01:52) Early Days of Crypto

(12:09) BitInstant Origin Story

(23:34) Competing with Money

(36:40) Arbitrum Ad

(37:28) Harpie Ad

(38:43) The Mining Industry

(46:46) Origins of Exchanges

(52:56) Bitcoin in 2013

(01:00:08) Charlie's Arrest

(01:09:24) The 2015/16 Bear Market

(01:15:15) The Block Size Wars

(01:29:33) Ordinals

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Disclaimer: Nothing said on Empire is a recommendation to buy or sell securities or tokens. This podcast is for informational purposes only, and any views expressed by anyone on the show are solely our opinions, not financial advice. Santiago, Jason, and our guests may hold positions in the companies, funds, or projects discussed.