ashu swami

All cryptos may be money but only bitcoin is the TCP/IP of money

[Isabel Foxen Duke⚡️ @isabelfoxenduke]

BITCOIN RAILS EPISODE #22: The problem with Bitcoin L2s & the ‘Bitcoin Fee-Scaling Dilemma’ | with @MARAHoldings Director of Engineering Michael Casey @theblackmarble

Michael Casey was brought on by @MARAHoldings to address an often overlooked problem in the world of Bitcoin Layer 2s… they generally don’t contribute much to the security budget of Layer 1 Bitcoin.

We often hear concerns about fees being either too high OR too low depending on how you look at it…

too high if you’re optimizing for 8 billion people being able to use the network in a self-custodial way—but too low if your goal is maintaining network security as Bitcoin block rewards continue to halve over time.

This interview explores this "fee-scaling" dilemma, as we discuss:

-Why MARA is funding a Bitcoin side-chain development projec
-The power of merge mining in solving this “fee-scaling dilemma”
-How Bitcoin was used for payments in a pre-Lightning world
-Why L2s ultimately need to pay Bitcoin miners to sustain the network in the long run

We also cover some fun Bitcoin history—like the impacts of Bitcoin’s cultural shift from being “network-focused” to “asset-focused,” why BIP300 may have been a good idea after all, and the little known history of @Truthcoin 's BitAssets.

As always, this episode can be viewed on Spotify or YouTube—full episode in the comments or linktree in my bio.

This episode is powered by Best In Slot—the leading API for Ordinals and BRC20 data aggregation and indexing.

TIMESTAMPS
00:25 Intro to Mike Casey
01:08 Why did MARA launch Anduro sidechain?
02:00 Anduro: a merged-mined Bitcoin sidechain
03:50 Are we thinking about Bitcoin fees enough?
08:00 Price is rising - where are the fees!?
09:30 When Bitcoin truly becomes vulnerable
11:18 Will nation state funded mining take over?
15:30 Mike’s role before working at MARA
18:20 Mike gets obsessed with Bitcoin’s price
21:00 The GM director’s Bitcoin presentation
22:44 Mike moving on from GM to MARA
24:40 Anduro chains: Alice and Coordinate
26:10 Coordinate: a fork of Bitcoin core
29:15 Fairer fee market: dutch auction fee mechanism
31:50 Coordinate is getting OP_CAT!
33:00 Spending BTC is long dead
34:00 How does Coordinate compare to Lightning?
34:55 Taproot Assets are quantum vulnerable!
41:50 Taproot: Schnnor signatures and MAST
43:00 Can the BitVM L2s be quantum resistant?
44:40 Mike doesn’t want OP_CAT
46:29 Ethereum’s Rollup Problem
47:30 What about BIP 300?
49:30 What are Bit Assets?
51:00 There’s no ignoring Ordinals as a miner
53:40 Bitcoin had the first NFTs
54:45 DEXs on Coordinate
56:00 Let’s not see Ordinals die

[MARA @MARA]

The first-ever MARA Hackathon drops this June.
One day. One challenge.
The prize? 1 BTC.

Students — get notified when applications open:
https://t.co/VqSHCbdxUc

[MARA @MARA]

Our Gas-to-Power solution transforms stranded or associated gas into productive compute—cutting emissions, unlocking new value streams, and enabling operators to meet evolving regulatory demands.

Visit https://t.co/tbEf8lwTKL to see the full infographicOur Gas-to-Power solution transforms stranded or associated gas into productive compute—cutting emissions, unlocking new value streams, and enabling operators to meet evolving regulatory demands.

Visit https://t.co/tbEf8lwTKL to see the full infographicOur Gas-to-Power solution transforms stranded or associated gas into productive compute—cutting emissions, unlocking new value streams, and enabling operators to meet evolving regulatory demands.

Visit https://t.co/tbEf8lwTKL to see the full infographicOur Gas-to-Power solution transforms stranded or associated gas into productive compute—cutting emissions, unlocking new value streams, and enabling operators to meet evolving regulatory demands.

Visit https://t.co/tbEf8lwTKL to see the full infographicOur Gas-to-Power solution transforms stranded or associated gas into productive compute—cutting emissions, unlocking new value streams, and enabling operators to meet evolving regulatory demands.

Visit https://t.co/tbEf8lwTKL to see the full infographicOur Gas-to-Power solution transforms stranded or associated gas into productive compute—cutting emissions, unlocking new value streams, and enabling operators to meet evolving regulatory demands.

Visit https://t.co/tbEf8lwTKL to see the full infographic:

[Fred Thiel @fgthiel]

And so it starts - welcome to the new age for digital assets. https://t.co/6UWpG8aY26

[MARA @MARA]

Today, MARA mined the “Trump 47” block, a historic visual marker on the Bitcoin blockchain to honor the inauguration of President-Elect @realDonaldTrump, the first Bitcoin President of the United States. https://t.co/piHZExBDnB

[Watcher.Guru @WatcherGuru]

JUST IN: 🇺🇸 Bitcoin miner MARA honors President-elect Trump's inauguration by mining his portrait into a $BTC block.

[Salman Khan @theRealSalKhan]

$Mara mines President Trump commemorative block!

@realDonaldTrump @EricTrump

[Cointelegraph @Cointelegraph]

🇺🇸 LATEST: #Bitcoin miner MARA commemorates President Trump’s upcoming inauguration by embedding his portrait in a $BTC block.

[Fred Thiel @fgthiel]

1/ The “Trump 47” block was just mined by MARA commemorating the inauguration of President Donald Trump.
@EricTrump @realDonaldTrump @saylor

https://t.co/bgUadQw40k

[MARA @MARA]

Bitcoin mining is redefining sustainability—transforming renewable energy, stabilizing power grids, and cutting emissions.

Discover its potential in part two of our “Common Bitcoin Myths and Misconceptions Debunked” series:

https://t.co/qiPZ3EyIiH

[ashu swami @ashuswami3]

@VivekGRamaswamy Isn't it a very straightforward message. America has been the greatest nation in producing scientists (and leaders, arts and sports talent etc) but something has changed since the 90s and we are losing the STEM race BADLY. Proof is below and we need to fix it.

[MARA @MARA]

MARA raised $1.925 billion from 0% convertible notes in November and December. Using the proceeds from its zero-coupon convertible notes offerings, MARA has acquired 15,574 BTC for ~$1.53 billion at ~$98,529 per #bitcoin and repurchased ~$263 million in aggregate principal amount of its existing convertible notes due 2026, and expects to use the remaining proceeds to acquire additional bitcoin. MARA has achieved BTC Yield of 22.5% QTD and 60.9% YTD. As of 12/18/2024, we hold 44,394 BTC, currently valued at $4.45 billion based on a spot BTC price of $100,151.

[MARA @MARA]

MARA is turning stranded energy into value and driving sustainability with #Bitcoin. As CEO @fgthiel says:

"We optimize and monetize every last electron, leveraging Bitcoin to balance the energy grid."

Watch the full @Nasdaq interview here: https://t.co/ogAcoI7erv

[MARA @MARA]

With @SenLummis's #Bitcoin Act in the pipeline, the US must lead in mining, blockspace, & hashrate so we can ensure that “...a sovereign can have sovereignty.” - @fgthiel

Read more: https://t.co/UNbfDAsZpr

[Salman Khan @theRealSalKhan]

Super excited!

[MARA @MARA]

American compute power is accelerating. Today, we’re announcing:

-Three new data centers.
-Owned and operated in Ohio.
-372 megawatts of capacity.

#Bitcoin - Made in USA.

[MARA @MARA]

Today, MARA announced that it has secured a $200 million line of credit, collateralized by a portion of its bitcoin holdings. Read the press release here: https://t.co/7WQjOsW5iy

[CoinDesk @CoinDesk]

Multichain layer-2 network Anduro, incubated by mining firm @MarathonDH, has developed a platform for issuing and investing in real-world assets on the Bitcoin blockchain. By @JamieCrawleyCD

https://t.co/MVqVdfXiLT

[MARA @MARA]

When a town in Norway shut down a data center, their electricity costs surged by around 20%. This shows how Bitcoin mining, as a major energy purchaser, can play a crucial role in supporting local economies and distributing energy costs. Discover more: https://t.co/6FfNDaSJ72

[Robert Samuels @RobSamuelsIR]

Excited to welcome our two new board members to the @MarathonDH team. They bring a wealth of experience in the AI and energy sectors and will be valuable assets as we continue to grow our business.