Spiral: A Bitcoin Newsletter, Now in Audio

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Spiral builds and funds free, open-source projects aimed at making bitcoin the planet’s preferred currency. Each edition of the Spiral newsletter offers a behind-the-scenes look at what the team is working on, across verticals that range from plushies to deep, deep nerd stuff. Subscribe on Substack or listen here. spiralbtc.substack.com

Episodes

  1. Open-Source AI Needs to Get Serious

    FEB 25

    Open-Source AI Needs to Get Serious

    AI agents are getting powerful, but they still can’t reliably pay for things because the internet’s payment stack is built to stop bots. Big players like Visa, Stripe/OpenAI, Google, and Coinbase are racing to define “agentic payments,” but the standards they push are likely to be permissioned, incomplete, or create lock-in around a small set of approved rails. If open-source agents want to stay competitive, they need to rally around open, widely-usable payment rails and push merchants to support agent-friendly checkout. Whatever you think of bitcoin, it was made for this. Written and narrated by Spiral’s Matt Corallo, a long-time bitcoin open-source developer. Read the full article or listen on Apple/Spotify. https://x.com/spiralbtc https://x.com/TheBlueMatt This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit spiralbtc.substack.com

    9 min
  2. Bitcoin Merchant Community: One Month Update

    12/16/2025

    Bitcoin Merchant Community: One Month Update

    The Bitcoin Merchant Community is an effort to accelerate bitcoin payment adoption by merchants. The goal is twofold: 1) help merchants understand that they can eliminate 3% credit card fees by accepting bitcoin, and 2) empower bitcoiners to locally spread that message to merchants in a fun and memorable way. It’s been one month since we launched the Bitcoin Merchant Community and we’re off to a strong start: • 800+ Itty Bitty plushies for small businesses sent • Nearly 100 Discord participants • Dozens of Local Champion applications received • Money saved by business who prefer bitcoin to credit cards Read the full post here: https://spiralbtc.substack.com/p/bitcoin-merchant-community-one-month. https://www.bitcoinmerchantcommunity.org/ https://x.com/spiralbtc This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit spiralbtc.substack.com

    6 min
  3. Making Bitcoin Speak Human

    12/11/2025

    Making Bitcoin Speak Human

    The existing bitcoin address ecosystem looks about as intimidating to newcomers as it could. They look like 1Aqv9KxZc2y7M8b for a reason, sure, but they’re far from necessary. Human Bitcoin Addresses (BIP 353) are a worthy replacement and a huge UX unlock for bitcoin. Read the full article here: https://spiralbtc.substack.com/p/making-bitcoin-speak-human Spiral has supported FOSS bitcoin since 2019, making bitcoin everyday money by improving security, privacy, and especially UX. That’s why we’re focused on how the next wave of users spend bitcoin. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit spiralbtc.substack.com

    12 min
  4. Merchants Don’t Read White Papers, They Read Cash Flow Statements

    11/12/2025

    Merchants Don’t Read White Papers, They Read Cash Flow Statements

    Our thesis is pretty simple: we can only make the case that bitcoin is money if people can spend it. Unfortunately, for most of bitcoin’s existence, there just haven’t been many places to spend it. This is why we’re spearheading a peer-to-peer community exclusively for merchants, one that is bitcoin service-agnostic, to promote the idea of bitcoin as everyday money: https://www.bitcoinmerchantcommunity.org/ The Bitcoin Merchant Community aims to help merchants understand how bitcoin lets them keep more from every sale, and empower bitcoiners to explain it in an approachable and relatable way. The community includes resources, conversation guides, and leave-behind materials anyone can use to spark local adoption—plus a Facebook group where merchants can connect, share experiences, and ask questions. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit spiralbtc.substack.com

    7 min
  5. Our Hopes and Dreams for Bitcoin Design

    10/23/2025

    Our Hopes and Dreams for Bitcoin Design

    Spiral Product Managers, Mat Balez and Conor Okus, outline a few long-term plans to grow the influence and impact of the Bitcoin Design Community. Read the full article on Spiral’s Substack: spiralbtc.substack.com FOLLOW: Mat Balez: https://x.com/matbalez Conor Okus: https://x.com/ConorOkus Spiral: https://x.com/spiralbtc This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit spiralbtc.substack.com

    10 min
  6. Lexe Uses LDK to Run Self-Custodial Lightning in Secure Enclaves

    09/17/2025

    Lexe Uses LDK to Run Self-Custodial Lightning in Secure Enclaves

    Lexe CEO and Co-founder Max Fang wrote this case study on how Lexe, a self-custodial Bitcoin and Lightning wallet, runs inside secure Intel SGX enclaves to provide 24/7 reliability without ever holding users’ keys. By leveraging the modularity of LDK, Lexe overcame the technical constraints of enclaves to deliver seamless payments, constant uptime, and dramatically lower node hosting costs. This architecture solves the Lightning trilemma—combining self-custody, convenience, and low cost—while enabling free, enterprise-grade Lightning node hosting. Read the full article on Spiral’s Substack: spiralbtc.substack.com FOLLOW: Max Fang: https://x.com/MaxFangX, https://www.linkedin.com/in/maxfangx/ Lexe: https://x.com/lexeapp, https://www.linkedin.com/company/lexeapp/ Spiral: https://x.com/spiralbtc, https://www.linkedin.com/company/spiralbtc/ This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit spiralbtc.substack.com

    8 min
  7. Nerd of the Month #5: A Castle of Glass, or, Rebuilding the Lightning Network's Foundations

    08/21/2025

    Nerd of the Month #5: A Castle of Glass, or, Rebuilding the Lightning Network's Foundations

    This post is written by Spiral grantee, Matt Morehouse, who is working on improving Lightning’s security and stability. Read the written version on our Substack: spiralbtc.substack.com FOLLOW: Matt Morehouse: https://morehouse.github.io/ Spiral: https://x.com/spiralbtc This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit spiralbtc.substack.com

    9 min
  8. 2025 Q2 Spiral Progress Report

    07/31/2025

    2025 Q2 Spiral Progress Report

    We’re working on stuff. What stuff? This stuff. It’s a lot more stuff than we would like.Spiral: https://x.com/spiralbtc This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit spiralbtc.substack.com

    5 min
  9. Just a Lil Bitcoin Product Blog #2: Bringing ₿ to the World

    07/17/2025

    Just a Lil Bitcoin Product Blog #2: Bringing ₿ to the World

    Spiral PM Mat Balez makes the case for using ₿ to represent all bitcoin quantities. He explores how today’s emphasis on “sats” could eventually edge the word “bitcoin” out of everyday payments entirely. Along the way, he unpacks product design, brand clarity, and why the humble ₿ might be key to onboarding the next billion users. FOLLOW: Mat Balez: https://x.com/matbalez, Spiral: https://x.com/spiralbtc This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit spiralbtc.substack.com

    10 min
  • 9 Episodes

About

Spiral builds and funds free, open-source projects aimed at making bitcoin the planet’s preferred currency. Each edition of the Spiral newsletter offers a behind-the-scenes look at what the team is working on, across verticals that range from plushies to deep, deep nerd stuff. Subscribe on Substack or listen here. spiralbtc.substack.com

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