PlebLab

builders

Fueling Bitcoin Innovation & Austin’s Bitcoin Revolution: Car on PlebLab Mission

_Sharing this Early Days episode early with the ~builders crew. It goes world wide tomorrow at noon. Muzz has been in the PL corner since we got into Bitcoin. LV is an investor in PlebLab. Muzz is also one of the ecosystem’s most candid voices. Honest takes are rare in VC; like it or not he brings them. We recorded this about two months ago. - Car_

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E A R L Y D A Y S with Muzz of Lightning Ventures

![](https://m.stacker.news/110132)

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# Summary

In this episode, Car talks with Muzz of Lightning Ventures about the real mechanics of funding Bitcoin startups. Muzz traces his path from early Bitcoin ATM experiments to running the world’s largest Bitcoin angel investing network, then breaks down what investors look for, how consistent updates change outcomes, and why Bitcoin founders are unusually resilient. He also introduces Thunder Funder, an equity crowdfunding platform built for Bitcoin companies, and maps the growing community, capital, and playbooks available to builders. Whether you are writing your first investor update or exploring your first check, this conversation delivers clear, usable advice for Bitcoin founders.

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https://streamable.com/l/pakzwo/mp4-mobile.mp4

Chapters:

03:29 Building A Bitcoin Only Syndicate
06:32 The Importance of Investor Updates and Communication
09:27 Challenges of Raising Capital in the Bitcoin Space
12:27 Comparing Bitcoin and Traditional Investment Models
15:30 The Unique Resilience of Bitcoin Founders
18:25 Understanding the Hurdles of Bitcoin Investments
24:23 Navigating the VC Landscape in Bitcoin
30:35 Future Plans for PL Startup School
35:10 Building a Bitcoin Company
39:41 The Austin Bitcoin Scene
40:40 Thunder Funder: Equity Crowdfunding for Bitcoin Startups
44:36 Lessons Learned Navigating the Crowdfunding Landscape
48:18 Changes in Accreditation and Regulation
54:35 The Evolution of Lightning Ventures


Learn more about *Lightning Ventures*: https://ltng.ventures

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# Listen + Support Early Days

🌳 LinkTree: https://linktr.ee/earlydays21
🟡 Fountain: https://fountain.fm/show/r6iQml5mSq3a2gmsRxex
🟠 PlebTV: https://www.plebtv.com/PLvxf1TpXqCAID5M_k5VkwrURU2M8YYGpZ/5bRR8UEUckY

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E A R L Y D A Y S with Muzz of Lightning Ventures

![](https://m.stacker.news/109333)

Bitcoin Builders Club is your monthly hangout in Austin, Texas, for devs, hackers, and founders come together to share ideas, demo projects, and explore the cutting edge of what's possible. Whether hacking on Bitcoin Lightning, developing open-source tools, or launching your next startup, this is your space to build in public, connect with peers, and get real-time feedback from a community of open-source creators.

Learn more about Jimmy Song:
https://programmingbitcoin.com

Follow Jimmy Song on Twitter:
https://x.com/jimmysong

Follow Jimmy Song on Nostr:
https://primal.net/jimmysong

Bitcoin Builders Club - Jimmy Song | BBC #3

Stacker Saloon

saloon

Fractional Sales Lead (Sponsorships) - Bitcoiner Job (Part-Time)

bitcoin

@PlebLab's bio

updated for you siggy! will add more in the future

![Early Days with Solo Satoshi](https://m.stacker.news/97072)

# Summary

In this episode of *Early Days*, Car sits down with Matt of Solo Satoshi to discuss the rise of Bitaxe and its impact on home mining. They explore the possibilities of home mining, the importance of decentralization, and how community support fuels resilience when building a Bitcoin business.

https://streamable.com/l/ou19o1/mp4.mp4

# Chapters

- **02:43** – Bitaxe Open Source Movement  
- **03:49** – Creating Solo Satoshi  
- **17:01** – Differentiating in the Bitaxe Market  
- **24:37** – The Sovereign Bitcoin Stack  
- **30:31** – Bitaxe Operations and Challenges  
- **42:04** – Home Mining Competition  
- **51:49** – Importance of Integrity  
- **01:02:04** – The Evolution of Bitcoin Adoption  
- **01:12:43** – Plans for Solo Satoshi  

# Learn More

- Follow Matt on [X](https://x.com/MattSoloSatoshi)  
- Follow Solo Satoshi on [X](https://x.com/SoloSatoshi)  
- Learn more about [Solo Satoshi](https://www.solosatoshi.com)  
- Explore [Bitaxe Open Source](https://bitaxe.org)


E A R L Y D A Y S with Matt of Solo Satoshi

_had the idea of getting Kilian on Early Days after I saw the AMA on SN https://stacker.news/items/932297 Had a blast talking with him, he was very open about what all the pain points were building a company like Boltz...enjoy stackers...certified fresh ep recorded this yesterday at noon. -Car_


![](https://m.stacker.news/95995)

# Summary

In this episode of _Early Days,_ Car sits down with Kilian, Co-founder and CEO of Boltz, to explore the inception and evolution of the platform—designed to enable non-custodial swaps across Bitcoin layers. Kilian shares insights into the early challenges of the Lightning Network, the integration of Liquid for more efficient transactions, and the ongoing pursuit of privacy in Lightning payments.

https://streamable.com/l/ndfkh4/mp4-mobile.mp4

# Chapters

03:38 How Boltz Evolved
06:16 Liquid’s Role in Lightning
09:25 User Experience and Wallet Integration
12:31 The Boltz Founders Journey 
15:30 Technical Challenges and Node Management
18:27 Legal Considerations: Structuring a Non-Custodial Business
21:39 The Future of Lightning Network and Privacy Concerns
41:52 How Private is Lightning?
45:16 Bolt12 in Focus
48:55 Compliance Challenges in an Open Bitcoin Ecosystem
52:10 Rethinking Liquid
59:28 Lightning Network and Channel Management

# Learn More

Follow Kilian on [X](https://x.com/kilrau)  
Learn more about [Boltz](https://boltz.exchange)

E A R L Y D A Y S with Kilian of Boltz

PlebLab newsletter for June 2025.

![](https://m.stacker.news/95138)

📡 Transmission is live... "PlebLab Presents: Bitcoin Builders Club" - June 2025

Startup Day 2025 continues with a spotlight on the finalists of Top Builder Season 2 — a competition celebrating the most promising early-stage Bitcoin startups.

In this video, meet the Top Builders:
⚡ Branta
⚡ Lightning Bounties
⚡ Jippi
⚡ SatsGG
⚡ Shopstr

Each team is pushing the boundaries of what’s possible with Bitcoin, Lightning, and freedom tech. From earning sats to open-source collaboration and Bitcoin-first marketplaces, these founders are building the future.

What’s Next for Bitcoin? These Startups Might Have the Answer.

Claude posting a code snippet to Nostr

chrisatmachine

PlebDevs Announcement by Austin Kelsay

awesome! he could use the feedback cc: @bitcoinplebdev

🎥 Startup Day content is rolling out all week — and next up: Teresa Martin, COO of PlebLab & FlipCat Consulting, joins Alan Bickerstaff, Partner at DLA Piper, to unpack the legal challenges facing Bitcoin startups.

From entity formation to compliance and capital raising — this one’s a must-watch for founders navigating the legal frontier. 💼

More about the presenters:
Follow Teresa Martin on Twitter: https://x.com/FlipCatLLC
Follow Alan Bickerstaff on Twitter: https://x.com/abickerstaff

Learn more about DLA Piper: https://www.dlapiper.com
Learn more about FlipCat Consulting: https://www.flipcatconsulting.com
Learn more about PlebLab: https://pleblab.dev

Navigating Legal Risks for Bitcoin Founders | Teresa Martin & Alan Bickerstaff

>This past weekend, the Lightning Bounties team returned to the MIT Bitcoin Hackathon — not as participants, but as mentors. Just one year after winning Track 1 with our GitHub-Bitcoin payment integration, we found ourselves guiding 510 hackers through the challenges we had faced ourselves. This full-circle journey from competitors to coaches at the “Freedom Tech” hackathon highlighted not only Bitcoin’s growing ecosystem but also the powerful community knowledge transfer that drives innovation forward. Here’s our story of mentorship, technical challenges, and the incredible projects that emerged over those intensive 30 hours.

>The Birth of Lightning Bounties
Last spring, we huddled around a table at MIT, frantically debugging Lightning Network connections as the final minutes of the 2024 hackathon ticked down. Our project — a system to automatically reward open-source contributors on GitHub with Bitcoin — was held together with equal parts code, grit, and Red Bull.

![](https://m.stacker.news/87320) 

![](https://m.stacker.news/87321)

![](https://m.stacker.news/87322)

>Lightning Bounties 2024 MIT Bitcoin Hackathon
When Lightning Bounties was announced as the Track 1 winner we experienced that rare moment of validation every builder craves. The enthusiastic response from judges and fellow participants confirmed we’d identified a genuine problem worth solving in open-source development.

>That single weekend transformed our trajectory entirely. Within a year, we evolved from a hackathon project to a vibrant startup featured in Bitcoin News and selected as a finalist in PlebLab’s Top Builder competition

>Why We Returned as Mentors
We chose to mentor at this year’s hackathon because Lightning Bounties is living proof that a weekend project built on grit can evolve into something meaningful. The doors that opened for us — media exposure, accelerator programs, industry connections — are waiting for the next wave of builders too.

Lightning Bounties: Mentoring MIT Bitcoin Hackathon 2025

🎥 Startup Day content is rolling out all week — and next up: Austin Kelsay, Founder of PlebDevs.

Austin shares the journey of building PlebDevs from the ground up — the growth, the vision, and what’s coming next... including some exciting new features launching soon. 🚀

Learn More about PlebDevs: https://plebdevs.com/
Follow him on SN: @bitcoinplebdev

🎥 Startup Day content is rolling out all week — and next up: a special announcement from Stephen Delorme, Co-Founder of ATL BitLab.

ATL BitLab has been a home for builders, hackers, and freedom tech in Atlanta — and Stephen shares what’s next for the space, the mission, and a big event coming this summer. ⚡️

Learn More about ATL BitLab: https://atlbitlab.com

ATL BitLab Announcement by Stephen Delorme

🎥 Startup Day content is rolling out this week — and next up: Francisco Chavarria, Co-Founder & CEO of Yopaki.

Francisco unveils the Lightning Payments Tour — a mission to show how Lightning works in the wild, through direct merchant onboarding and real-world use cases. ⚡️

Startup Day Speaker: @FranciscoBTC Founder & CEO of Yopaki

More about the presentation:
Follow Yopaki on X: https://x.com/yopaki_
Learn More about Yopaki: https://yopaki.com


Lightning Payments Tour by Yopaki

openagents

🎥 Startup Day content is rolling out this week — and next up: The AIs Are Coming: OpenAgents V2 Has Arrived.

Christopher David, Founder & CEO of OpenAgents, shares a bold vision for a decentralized, AI-centric web — powered by Bitcoin.

More about the presentation:
Follow Christopher David on SN: @AtlantisPleb
Learn More about OpenAgents: https://openagents.com

The AI's Are Coming: OpenAgents V2 Has Arrived

🎥 Startup Day content is rolling out this week — and next up, we’re diving into the frontier of AI and Bitcoin.

Jim Carucci, Founder & CEO of CASCDR, explores the new paradigm: The Bitcoin & AI-Centric Internet — and what it means for builders entering this next wave. 🌊

More about the presentater:
Follow Jim on SN: @cascdr
Learn More about CASCDR: https://cascdr.xyz
Learn More about Pull That Up Jamie: https://www.pullthatupjamie.ai

The New Frontier: Entering the Bitcoin & AI-Centric Internet

🎥 Startup Day content is rolling out this week — and we’re kicking things off with some real wisdom.

2025 Keynote Speaker Joe Kelly, Co-Founder & CEO of Unchained, gets real about the peaks, valleys, and hard-earned lessons of building a Bitcoin company — and the values that carry you through. 💫

More about the presenter:
Follow Joe Kelly on Twitter: https://x.com/josephkelly
Learn More about Unchained: https://www.unchained.com

Joe Kelly Co-Founder & CEO of Unchained Keynote for Startup Day 2025

🎥 Startup Day content is rolling out all week — starting with a message for the builders.

First up: @Car, Co-Founder & CEO of PlebLab, shares a quick update on what we’re building and a key announcement for the startup community. 👀

✨ Huge thanks to our sponsors — and to Timestamp for powering Season 2 of Top Builder!

Watch Car’s announcement below! (ff to 4:51 for SNL shout out)


