Once Bitten! A Bitcoin Podcast.

Wen Group Chats For NOSTR, Ser? #589 Max Hilebrand.

Jan 28, 2026
Guest
Max Hilebrand
Max Hilebrand, privacy and freedom-technology builder behind Wasabi Wallet and NOSTR projects, discusses privacy-first design and scalable encrypted communication. He explains NOSTR’s self-sovereign identity model, the Marmot group-encryption spec and White Noise implementation, and why decentralized tooling like NGIT and the Sovereign Engineering Cohort matter for building FreedomTech.
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ANECDOTE

Silk Road Books Reappear In Bristol

  • Simon acquired a stock of rare Paul Rosenberg books originally sold on Silk Road and sold them in Bristol.
  • Max recounts how those copies ended up in a Bitcoin meetup and his chance to meet Paul backstage.
INSIGHT

Private Communication Is Fundamental

  • Most human communication needs privacy, not global broadcast, and Nostr lacked encryption.
  • Solving scalable group encryption unlocks private chats, org coordination, and non-public collaboration.
INSIGHT

Marmot + MLS Enables Scalable Group Crypto

  • Scalable group encryption must add and remove members efficiently without trusting a central server.
  • Marmot/MLS integration provides group keys, membership changes, and fits Nostr's decentralized relays.
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