S16 E38: Bitcoin Payments in 2025 with Sergej Kotliar & Matt Ahlborg

Sergej Kotliar is the CEO of Bitrefill, while Matt Ahlborg recently created PPQ.AI to enable millions of users to experience LLMs without expensive subscriptions. But how are bitcoin payments doing? In this episode, they present their latest stats. Time stamps: 00:00:48 – Introducing Sergej Kotliar and Matt Aalborg 00:02:20 – Bitrefill’s Lightning Network Experience & Payment Trends 00:04:13 – Shift from Bitcoin Maximalism to Multi-Chain Usage 00:05:47 – Tron, Ethereum, and Payment Method Comparisons 00:10:04 – Defining Post-Maximalism 00:11:08 – Changing Morality and Ideology in Bitcoin 00:13:12 – Proof of Reserves & Bitcoin Company Transparency 00:14:15 – Bitrefill’s Payment Method Rankings 00:18:00 – Payment Method Percentages & Dashboard Usage 00:20:21 – Decline in On-Chain Bitcoin Payments 00:24:46 – Popular Wallets for Bitrefill Purchases 00:27:53 – Bitrefill’s Business Growth & Marketing 00:29:04 – Adoption Pace & Decentralization Tradeoffs 00:31:35 – Centralized vs. Decentralized Chains & Security 00:33:51 – Stablecoins’ Role in Crypto Payments 00:35:25 – Bitcoin as Store of Value vs. Stablecoins as Medium of Exchange 00:36:26 – American Influence & “Never Spend Your Bitcoin” Narrative 00:38:47 – Bitcoin Spending Trends & Storage Habits 00:43:34 – Crypto Usage Beyond Bitcoin & Banking Systems 00:44:24 – Bitrefill’s Current Offerings & eSIM Growth 00:47:50 – Integration with Traditional Payment Networks 00:49:29 – Loss of libertarian ethos and Bitcoin community fragmentation. 00:51:41 – Support for Privacy Coins & Chain Selection 00:57:36 – Monero Usage on PPQ.AI & Regulatory Perceptions 01:00:01 – Liquid Bitcoin & Its Limited Adoption 01:05:16 – NFTs, Gambling, and Network Effects in Crypto 01:07:14 – Changing Narratives & Post-Rationalization 01:09:34 – Bitcoin’s Utopian Vision & Real-World Challenges 01:13:06 – Decentralization’s Gradual Growth & VPN Analogy 01:17:18 – PPQ AI: Naming, Features, and Privacy 01:22:03 – AI Model Variety & User Experience on PPQ AI 01:25:02 – Image & Video Generation with AI 01:27:22 – AI’s Impact on Employment & Content Creation 01:29:42 – AI, Automation, and Crypto Payments for Robots 01:34:02 – How PPQ.AI Handles User Data & Privacy 01:37:22 – Memory Features & User Profiling in AI 01:39:19 – Bitrefill’s Vision for the Future 01:40:29 – PPQ.AI’s Business Model & Growth 01:44:18 – PPQ.AI Model Access, Subscriptions, and Competitors 01:52:03 – PPQ.AI’s Elevator Pitch & Referral Program