In this episode, David Wong interviews Kevin Hurley and Alex Akselrod to discuss layer 2 solutions on Bitcoin. They explain that layer 2 (L2) is a scalability solution that sits on top of the Bitcoin blockchain and adds additional functionality and programmability. They discuss the history of L2s, mentioning Namecoin and colored coins as early examples. They also explore the distinction between L2s and sidechains, with L2s typically allowing for unilateral exits and sidechains relying on federations or merge mining. They mention projects like Blockstream, Stacks, and Rootstock as examples of L2s or sidechains on Bitcoin. The conversation explores the concept of multi-signature (multi-sig) and its role in layer 2 (L2) solutions like Liquid. It also delves into the workings of the Lightning Network, which enables instant and low-cost transactions on Bitcoin. The Lightning Network operates through payment channels, where users can push 'beads' (Satoshi's) back and forth. The conversation also touches on the challenges of centralization in Lightning Network and the role of LightSpark in making Lightning more accessible and user-friendly.

In the 5th episode of this series I interview Arik Sosman (our very first guest!) in order to learn more about Bitcoin transactions. Specifically, how the Bitcoin scripting language works, and what UTXOs are!

You can find out more about Arik by following him on twitter: https://twitter.com/arikaleph?lang=en

In this fourth episode I stick with Bitcoin to talk about 51% attacks and double spending in more details. In the second part of the podcast I explain what type of data structure merkle trees are, and why they are used in pretty much all cryptocurrencies.