A Lottery to Free Samourai | The Confab 31: Rick Messitt

Episode notes

In this Confab, Max sat down with Rick (@rmessitt on Twitter) to talk about the fight for financial privacy, why the Samourai case matters, and how he helped raise over 10,000,000 sats through a provably fair lottery to support the Samourai developers. They got into the cypherpunk roots of Bitcoin, the dangers of KYC, paper Bitcoin, and the creeping surveillance state, as well as why privacy tools are essential if Bitcoin is ever going to be genuinely useful as freedom money. Rick also shared his perspective on why so many people in Bitcoin have lost sight of the bigger picture, and why supporting people like Keonne and Bill matters far beyond just one legal case.

Rick opened up about his own painful experience of losing around 25 BTC in a hack, how that changed the way he thinks about self-custody, and what others can learn from it. They talked through the emotional reality of being hacked, the importance of continuing to learn rather than becoming complacent, and the trade-offs between different custody setups. It was an honest conversation about sovereignty, security, time, family, and how to keep fighting without letting any of this consume your life.

LINKS MENTIONED:

- Fiesta Lottery: https://x.com/RMessitt/status/1993055214203478261
- Samourai Lottery: https://freesamourai.now
- Free Samourai Presentation: https://x.com/RMessitt/status/2105342444594225195

HELP GET SAMOURAI A PARDON

SIGN THE PETITION ----> https://www.change.org/p/stand-up-for-freedom-pardon-the-innocent-coders-jailed-for-building-privacy-tools
DONATE TO THE FAMILIES w/ USD ----> https://www.givesendgo.com/billandkeonne
DONATE TO THE FAMILIES w/ BTC ----> https://pay.zaprite.com/pl_JpxtkLv95T
SUPPORT ON SOCIAL MEDIA ---> https://billandkeonne.org/

FOUNDATION

https://foundation.xyz/ungovernable

Foundation builds Bitcoin-centric tools that empower you to reclaim your digital sovereignty.

As a sovereign computing company, Foundation is the antithesis of today’s tech conglomerates. Returning to cypherpunk principles, they build open source technology that “can’t be evil”.

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CAKE WALLET

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Cake Wallet is an open-source, non-custodial wallet available on Android, iOS, macOS, and Linux.

Features:
- Built-in Exchange: Swap easily between Bitcoin and Monero.
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Monero Users:
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Bitcoin Users:
- Coin Control: Manage your transactions effectively.
- Silent Payments: Static bitcoin addresses
- Batch Transactions: Streamline your payment process.

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MYNYMBOX

https://mynymbox.io

Your go-to for anonymous server hosting solutions, featuring: virtual private & dedicated servers, domain registration and DNS parking. We don't require any of your personal information, and you can purchase using Bitcoin, Lightning, Monero and many other cryptos.

Explore benefits such as No KYC, complete privacy & security, and human support.

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