Welcome to Slate Sundays, CryptoSlate’s new weekly characteristic showcasing in-depth interviews, professional evaluation, and thought-provoking op-eds that transcend the headlines to discover the concepts and voices shaping the way forward for crypto.
It’s not typically that you just meet somebody with as a lot integrity as Jameson Lopp. Being in his presence for any size of time, whether or not on-line or in meatspace (the place you’d know him underneath a pseudonym), it begins to rub off on you and make you wish to be a greater Bitcoiner; a greater human, for that matter.
Few folks have executed extra to advance the world of Bitcoin and crypto safety than Jameson. Regardless of peddling a message nobody desires to listen to (till they’ve misplaced entry to their personal keys), he stays undeterred, making it his life’s work to coach folks of the potential risks surrounding their crypto safety setups and the Bitcoin community basically.
His specific model of product isn’t horny. It doesn’t lure with the promise of Lambos or NGU. Bitcoin safety is such an uncompelling matter, in actual fact, that Jameson’s discovered himself bumped from the primary stage at massive occasions. The rise in wrench assaults is such a “Debbie Downer” that he’s been relegated to the developer’s stage.
“The big non-technical conferences usually don’t even need the technical folks on stage speaking concerning the issues inherent to the system,” he says. “Having rational, sensible discussions concerning the issues within the area conflicts with a whole lot of the narratives that individuals wish to push on the market to pump it up and improve adoption.”
As co-founder and Chief Safety Officer of Bitcoin safety supplier Casa, creator of Bitcoin real-time node monitoring platform statoshi, a slew of further facet initiatives aimed toward elevating consciousness, and over half 1,000,000 followers on X, Jameson confesses he’s “inundated,” and considerably “overwhelmed” attempting to remain on high of all of it.
I caught up with the dwelling legend and business OG to debate his extraordinary life, invaluable work, the rise in bodily Bitcoin assaults, and all the things in between.
Jameson Lopp and mastering the artwork of disappearance
Inform me what you understand about Jameson Lopp, and I’ll inform you what number of years you’ve been in Bitcoin. On second thought, maintain that data to your self. As Jameson’s posted and reposted on X:
“The primary rule of the 21 million membership is that you don’t speak about becoming a member of the 21 million membership.”
Topic to a grueling SWATting assault in 2017, he’s lived firsthand by means of the trauma inflicted on Bitcoiners when his home was raided after the police acquired fraudulent calls from an attacker claiming to be him.
The caller informed the police that he had shot somebody 15 instances with an assault rifle, was holding others hostage, and had rigged the entrance door with explosives, earlier than demanding a ransom of $50,000 in Bitcoin and threatening to shoot any approaching cops.
It was the stuff of films and the kind of ordeal that will have triggered most individuals to lift a white flag and retire from the business altogether.
However Jameson Lopp isn’t most individuals.
Not solely did he maintain his head excessive and proceed to stay defiant, however he set about making himself inconceivable to seek out—whereas educating others to erase their very own knowledge trails. From utilizing ad-blockers and VPNs on-line to establishing a second dwelling as a decoy tackle, Jameson’s footprints are in invisible ink.
Not even his household is aware of the place he lives.
“The better and safer factor for me to have executed could be to fully disappear,” he acknowledges, “however I felt like that will be giving in to the strain from dangerous actors. I wished to proceed to leverage the repute that I had constructed and have the ability to attain folks and speak about Bitcoin.”
I recall inventing a pseudonym one night time at a celebration and making up a complete new life. It was amusing at first till I couldn’t maintain a believable Spanish accent, and stored contradicting myself till the jig was up. I can’t even think about the psychological and bodily logistics concerned in dwelling this fashion long-term. It’s fairly excessive:
“The toughest half is that it’s a life-style change. After I began off, I used to be making a bunch of various pseudonyms that I used to be utilizing with totally different folks in meatspace, and it rapidly turned too tough to maintain monitor of, so I settled on only one pseudonym and one id.
Then, in fact, I’ve my actual id that I solely use to work together with folks remotely, as myself, my authentic authorities id… It will get extra difficult should you’re pulling extra folks into your scenario, like household, and kids.”
I wager. However Jameson has a signature look. Immediately recognizable, his unmistakable beard is streaked with silver like the magical bristles of a seasoned wizard. Has his cowl ever been blown?
“It’s extraordinarily uncommon,” he replies, “however that’s one in all my tough issues and a type of balancing act that I’m attempting to navigate. I don’t go on mainstream media exhibits for that cause. I don’t need my face to be broadcast to hundreds of thousands and hundreds of thousands of individuals. I do smaller podcasts and stuff, that are solely going to be seen by the people who find themselves already deep into this area.”
200 identified wrench assaults on Bitcoiners up to now
After I noticed one in all Jameson’s newest posts on X, warning concerning the rising variety of wrench assaults and pointing to a well-maintained log of identified bodily Bitcoin assaults, I knew I needed to attain out. However given his capacity to fade in plain sight, I didn’t anticipate him to reply. I used to be pleasantly shocked. He could also be inconceivable to bodily discover, however he’s accessible on the click on of a mouse to anybody who desires to speak Bitcoin.
In accordance with Jameson’s information, there are over 200 documented bodily assaults on Bitcoiners, greater than 30 of these within the first half of 2025. Why is the quantity going up so alarmingly?
“It’s going up as a result of the overall worth and measurement of the ecosystem are going up, and the general consciousness of the ecosystem is rising. So, you understand, that is only a pure phenomenon… There’s all the time going to be some tiny share of sociopaths who’re prepared to harm different folks for their very own private acquire.”
What’s extra fascinating, he factors out, is the overall development of incidents carried out by organized crime teams specializing in the sort of assault.
“There was a slew of them up and down the east coast of America a number of years in the past, after which just lately there’s been a slew of them in France, and in each circumstances, legislation enforcement finally arrested the folks behind it.”
I point out listening to him say beforehand that, oftentimes, wrench assaults are orchestrated by individuals who don’t reside in that nation however particularly journey there to hold out the assault. He nods:
“My attain and understanding of all of that is restricted by what’s being reported, however I’m seeing a sample in Southeast Asia of expats who’re being focused by what appears to be organized crime from their nation of origin.
I’ve seen numerous assaults, for instance, the place Russian residents who’re both vacationing or dwelling in Southeast Asia are getting hit by Russian organized crime. They’re coming into the nation, wrench attacking them, after which attempting to get out as rapidly as potential, and presumably attempting to leverage jurisdictional arbitrage.”
I ask whether or not wrench assaults largely occur to high-profile folks, and he shrugs.
“It’s arduous to say as a result of I by no means know who these individuals are. I do know “high-profile” people who find themselves on X. But when they’re high-profile on Instagram, I don’t know, and I don’t use TikTok. So, excessive profile could be very relative and fragmented.”
He says he does know of a number of victims who had been Instagram influencers who had been “mainly flaunting their wealth,” and bragging about their costly automobiles, wristwatches, and luxurious life. He shakes his head:
“If you’re on any type of public community and you’re flaunting your wealth, that’s one of many extra dangerous issues that you can be doing.”
Greatest recommendation to guard your self? By no means KYC
With most jurisdictions hellbent on combating cash laundering and counter-terrorism finance, it’s nearly inconceivable to be lively on this area with out handing over mounds of personal knowledge. Sadly for many people, nevertheless, this typically finally ends up being doxxed on-line, like within the Ledger breach of 2020, or Coinbase just some weeks in the past.
What can we do to guard ourselves within the period of KYC with out going to the acute measures of shopping for a proxy home or being untraceable by even essentially the most extremely expert of personal investigators?
“The most secure factor to do is to by no means KYC and solely use non-KYC providers. These are all the time going to be much less handy. They’re not as user-friendly, and there usually are not as a lot of them on the market. If you happen to’re utilizing KYC providers, I’d say ideally you’re not giving them your own home tackle.”
He acknowledges this may be tough since most suppliers require your house of domicile, however you possibly can scale back the danger by contemplating which doc you add.
“Personally, once I’m doing KYC, I choose to make use of my passport as my doc as a result of there’s no tackle on there. Then I’ll all the time initially attempt giving them a personal mailbox tackle that I’ve. Generally that works. But when they’ve stricter and better ranges of KYC, then I typically discover that getting rejected.”
When this occurs, Jameson reluctantly arms over the tackle of his now authorized residency, which he rents however doesn’t spend time in.
“After all, that’s going to be out of attain for most individuals to only have one other tackle that they’re not really utilizing,” he concedes.
And what about offering a utility invoice? There’s no workaround for that:
“That’s actually powerful for me as a result of I’ve no utility payments in my identify by design.”
A proud Libertarian and totally fledged Bitcoiner
As a self-proclaimed Libertarian, I ask Jameson whether or not he’s ever voted, or if that’s even potential now. He smooths down his beard and ponders my phrases, saying he stopped voting when he realized “no Libertarian was ever going to turn into president” or win any high-level workplace.
“The bi-party system is just too entrenched for that. However no, I undoubtedly haven’t any intention of ever registering to vote once more due to the general public information that that creates. You realize, the ROI of voting, just like the precise affect of my votes versus the period of time I must spend evaluating all of the politicians, their platforms, and whether or not or not I even belief them, it’s simply simpler for me to disregard politics as a lot as potential.”
And with a lot hoop-jumping and painstaking planning behind each transfer he makes, whether or not on-line or within the bodily realm, is all this actually value it? Did he ever take into account quitting fully? He pauses for some time and displays:
“There’s this cybersecurity saying. One thing just like the most secure method to make use of a pc is to by no means flip it on, by no means contact it, by no means use it… The pc, and particularly with the appearance of the web, is a massively highly effective software, however it’s a two-way system, proper? On one hand, you could have entry to basically all the sum of human information. However, you’re exposing your self to billions of potential attackers. You’re basically opening up a door to the remainder of the world for them to begin knocking on.”
I say that jogs my memory of an identical chorus: A ship is secure within the harbor, however that’s not what ships are for. He smiles and agrees. Let’s face it, there’s no world during which Jameson leaves the pc untouched.
“A very powerful factor that you are able to do for Bitcoin is to speak about it. That was one of many extra vital points of my life. I didn’t wish to quit on that.”
Bitcoin company treasuries and Saylor’s outsized benefit
Jameson’s conviction is indeniable, and the lengths he’s gone to advocate for Bitcoin deserve a Nobel prize. Did he all the time anticipate the business to evolve this fashion, with $100K value models, Bitcoin company treasuries, and an AI and crypto czar within the White Home?
“I’ve all the time been shocked by the extent of volatility,” he admits. “After I initially bought into Bitcoin, I used to be viewing it as type of a 30-year generation-level financial savings account. I wasn’t seeing it as a speculative funding that was going to go up many orders of magnitude simply over the following decade.”
That’s to not say he’s happy with all the things, although. Bitcoin on the Oval Workplace is a far cry from the peer-to-peer digital money system initially introduced to the world.
“I definitely have a whole lot of issues with the present state of the ecosystem, primarily that a whole lot of the adoption that appears to be occurring proper now could be occurring by means of TradFi automobiles that don’t even give folks an choice to take self-custody. So, that worries me each from a cultural perspective and a systemic threat perspective of the place the system is headed.”
With Michael Saylor pledging to purchase Bitcoin till Technique scoops up 10% of the provision and Bitcoin treasury corporations popping up like weeds, I think about that is fairly a priority…
“If an excessive amount of Bitcoin will get concentrated in too few arms, we run the danger of basically recreating a extremely centralized system,” he replies.
He confesses to being “conflicted” over the rising phenomenon of Bitcoin treasury corporations as a result of, on the one hand, Bitcoin is for everybody, but, on the opposite, Technique is “up to now forward they usually maintain pulling out additional forward.” He wish to see a extra stage enjoying area, which is why he determined to spend money on David Bailey’s Nakamoto.
“It’s not as a result of I believe that company Bitcoin treasury adoption is the most effective factor since sliced bread. It’s as a result of I felt like we wanted to have a broader and extra numerous group of company treasuries to compete with Saylor, to attempt to decelerate how a lot he can proceed accumulating. He has a whole lot of 1000’s of cash. What if he bought to the purpose of getting like 5 or 10% of the overall provide? That’s reaching systemic threat ranges.”
Jameson on quantum computing (or, we’re all ‘screwed’)
I ask what the best menace to the Bitcoin community is: centralization or quantum computing? Jameson’s been tweeting concerning the latter loads just lately:
“There’s a number of long-term existential points that I fear about. Quantum is a matter that I fear about together with issues like ossification and scaling.”
He continues:
“With quantum computing, there’s like half a dozen issues which are occurring in parallel, and in an effort to “resolve the quantum computing downside,” we’ll have to return to consensus on these half a dozen issues concurrently, which is just about unprecedented. Given the slowing and the growing problem and consensus modifications to the Bitcoin protocol, because of this I began speaking about it a 12 months in the past.”
He compares the quantum computing downside to local weather change, in that it’s an ever-present menace, but appears distant when there are extra urgent points to face.
“I believe it’s an identical sort of downside inside Bitcoin, however it’s exacerbated by the truth that, first, it takes years to get consensus on a change. Then it takes a number of years after the consensus change is activated for the remainder of the ecosystem to implement it, and, on this case, there’s anadditional delay of a number of years as a result of folks must migrate their funds. We’ve by no means been in that scenario earlier than.”
And the way distant is quantum computing?
There are a selection of predictions on this, he explains, from those that say it’s already right here to others who consider it’ll by no means arrive due to “some quantum physics stage attribute that may stop us from ever reaching that stage of computation.” What we all know for sure, he says, is that a number of authorities and requirements businesses are advising folks to organize for it inside at the least 5 years.
“Assuming that’s conservative and that we’ve got at the least 5 years, then, you understand, possibly we even have 10 or 15 years… I definitely hope that we’ve got 10 years. If we solely have 5 years, I believe we’re screwed as a result of it’ll take a number of years to get the consensus change, after which a number of years for it to matriculate and everybody emigrate. I’m hoping we’ve got at the least 10 years, that will be a superb buffer.”
Sleeping soundly in a world of uncertainty
Of all of the shifting narratives and cultural clashes over the previous few years, the one which bothers Jameson essentially the most is the pervasive dogma that Bitcoin is “inevitable” and “excellent” as it’s. This can be a harmful view, in his opinion—and one typically purveyed by proponents of ossification. He says:
“That results in what I take into account to be the best menace to Bitcoin over the long run, which is apathy. If individuals are apathetic about persevering with to speak about bettering Bitcoin, that’s when it turns into weak and extra susceptible to new threats that may emerge.”
Between perilous narratives, God-like AI, centralization of the community, and quantum computing looming forward, the longer term feels fairly bleak. There’s a lot to fret about, I exclaim.
As a safety pioneer and defender of the soundest cash the world has ever seen, does Jameson handle to get any sleep in any respect? He frowns for a second earlier than replying:
“I attempt to not let all of this stuff which are outdoors of my management maintain me up at night time. Like I mentioned earlier than, persevering with to speak about Bitcoin and talk about its issues is likely one of the greatest ways in which folks can contribute to the area…
It’s about conserving folks and engaged and interested by what we will do to deal with issues earlier than they occur.”
Talked about on this article
