CD181: FRANCIS POULIOT - BULL BITCOIN SELF CUSTODY BULL WALLET

Francis is the Founder of Bull Bitcoin, one of the best bitcoin brokerage services. They recently launched a self custody mobile wallet on ios and android: Bull Wallet. This rip was earlier today, in person, in Lugano. We are both here for the PlanB Forum.

Francis on Nostr: https://primal.net/francis
Francis on X: https://x.com/francispouliot_
Bull Wallet: https://wallet.bullbitcoin.com
PlanB Forum: https://planb.lugano.ch/planb-forum/

EPISODE: 181
BLOCK: 920238
PRICE: 929 sats per dollar

(00:00:00) Catching up from Lugano: old rips, 2019 memories, and lore

(00:01:07) Introducing Bull Wallet: goals, BDK under the hood, and UX vision

(00:02:21) Lightning lessons: LDK attempts, liquidity pain, and Phoenix tradeoffs

(00:04:38) Fee shocks and “just-in-time” channels: why Liquid entered the plan

(00:06:24) Liquid + Boltz atomic swaps: architecture, Rootstock notes, and standards push

(00:07:37) Designing for privacy and power users: Sparrow on mobile, Payjoin journey

(00:12:21) Data minimization in practice: no push, no cloud leaks, strict dependencies

(00:13:56) Shipping realities: iOS approval grind and cross‑platform necessity

(00:15:11) Secure versus Instant: Liquid framing, hype cycles, and collaborative custody

(00:19:13) The UX–compromise matrix: placing Liquid among trust models

(00:21:24) Auto‑swap safety rails: keeping Liquid balances modest by default

(00:24:26) Confidential transactions and buying flows: privacy wins via Liquid

(00:27:24) Swap providers and resilience: Boltz today, multi‑provider tomorrow

(00:31:05) Builders who ship: moving fast, potentially Ark or Spark in the future

(00:32:11) Why Ark: unilateral exits, pre‑confirmed states, and costs

(00:50:00) Ark tradeoffs without soft forks: watchtowers, refresh, and liveness

(00:57:15) Ark vs Liquid in Bull Wallet: timelines, reckless testing, and user defaults

(01:04:12) Payjoin, heuristics, and passive consolidation

(01:11:01) Consolidation strategies: Liquid swaps, CT, and fee‑aware UTXO management

(01:15:48) Lightning address UX with Liquid: directories, costs, and tiny payments

(01:17:10) Nostr as a wallet backend: zaps, contact book, and secure comms

(01:18:01) Multisig in practice: BitPay’s UX, Miniscript future, and mobile approvals

(01:20:19) Operator messaging and alerts: following npubs inside the app

(01:20:49) Core v30, OP_RETURN, and policy vs consensus

(01:31:09) Funding open source: OpenSats, private companies, and shipping culture

(01:35:15) Why open source keeps us sane: creativity, legacy, and closing notes

more info on the show: https://citadeldispatch.com
learn more about me: https://odell.xyz