
Show Notes
๐ GUEST LINKS:
Max Hillebrand โ Sound Money Solutions: https://soundmoneysolutions.io/
Max on Nostr: https://njump.me/npub1klkk3vrzme455yh9rl2jshq7rc8dpegj3ndf82c3ks2sk40dxt7qulx3vt
Personal site / archive: https://towardsliberty.com/
Mention HashrateUp when you reach out to Sound Money Solutions.
๐ Sponsored by:
Luxor, Mining software, firmware & hashrate tools https://luxor.tech/
Altair Technology, ASIC hardware, replacement parts & mining infrastructure Code: HASHRATEUP https://altairtech.io/aff/125/
You spend all your time and money maximizing mining profits, but what happens to those coins on the backend?
In this episode, I sit down with Max Hillebrand, co-founder of Sound Money Solutions, to talk about Bitcoin self-custody and how to actually keep the coins you mine safe. The timing couldn't be sharper, with the recent Cold Card entropy and brute-forcing issues making the rounds, but the deeper point is bigger than any single wallet.
We get into why most people never upgrade past their first setup, why no hardware wallet from 2017 is still secure, how holistic security ties your physical and digital life together, threat modeling, single-sig vs. multisig, inheritance planning, and why running your own full node is the real privacy minimum.
Timestamps:
0:00 Intro & the Cold Card self-custody issue 2:09 The most common self-custody mistake 3:49 Why we stick with what we know (Ledger, Binance) 6:39 What Sound Money Solutions actually offers 9:42 Self-sovereignty & why custody feels daunting 13:12 Sponsor: Luxor 13:41 Holistic security: your physical life protects your Bitcoin 14:46 Threat modeling: what are you protecting, and from whom? 15:27 GrapheneOS, VPNs & password managers 17:10 Full nodes, hardware wallets & the Cold Card Q 18:12 Inheritance: making your setup work without you 21:35 The North Korean hacks, SIM swaps & Telegram attacks 23:13 Security vs. convenience: striking the balance 25:16 Why your family is a target too 27:53 Sponsor: Altair 28:26 Max's background & what qualifies him 32:05 First steps: the lowest-hanging fruit to fix 34:32 The minimal basic setup (single-sig + passphrase) 35:12 Is custody always bad? Max's nuanced take 40:09 How to get comfortable sending Bitcoin 41:47 Testing your backups before funding a wallet 44:19 Rapid fire: mistakes, wallets, multisig & privacy 47:32 Wrap-up & where to find Max
๐ HashrateUp Hardware Deals: https://t.me/hashrateup ๐ฉ Free 5-Day Bitcoin Mining Course: https://hashrateup.com/newsletter-sign-up/
#Bitcoin #SelfCustody #BitcoinSecurity #ColdCard #HardwareWallet #BitcoinPrivacy #Multisig #GrapheneOS #Cypherpunk #HashrateUp
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Texas is ending 4CP. The incentive that saved flexible miners roughly $50,000 per MW per year is likely in its final season, and ERCOT is moving toward 12CP by 2028. Haley Thomson, Director of Energy at Luxor, explains what that means for Bitcoin miners and who ends up paying for the grid.Haley breaks down how 4CP actually works, why firm loads are pushing for change, and how 18+ GW of new battery storage has compressed capacity prices across ERCOT. We also cover why Bitcoin mining is close to the perfect grid-balancing load, how batteries and miners compare as grid assets, and how Luxor performed what's likely the first 4CP curtailment of GPUs in ERCOT.We also walk through the Luxor Energy dashboard live, from tracking load against breakeven to iMiner underclocking, 4CP buffer settings and what it really costs to be online during a peak. At the time of recording, 4CP season 2026 was likely already over.This episode is not sponsored by Luxor. Nothing discussed is financial advice. Do your own diligence before making energy or mining decisions.Guest: Haley Thomson, Director of Energy at Luxor TechnologyLuxor Energy: https://luxor.tech/energyHaley on Hashrate Index: https://hashrateindex.com/blog/author/haley/Luxor: https://luxor.techTimestamps:0:00 Intro0:45 Can AI provide grid flexibility?1:31 The first GPU 4CP curtailment in ERCOT3:45 What 4CP is worth: ~$50K per MW per year6:02 How 4CP works and who pays for the grid8:54 Why Bitcoin mining is the perfect flexible load11:45 Adding 60 GW of renewables: the transmission bottleneck14:00 Why firm loads want 4CP gone16:43 How miners lower off-peak energy prices20:57 Renewables, congestion and transmission costs24:54 12CP explained: what changes for miners29:29 Curtailing at $0 power: the solar mismatch31:04 How 18 GW of batteries reshaped ERCOT36:22 Battery vs Bitcoin mine39:10 Capex: batteries vs hydro vs air-cooled mining41:49 Luxor Energy dashboard walkthrough43:54 iMiner: raising breakeven from $75 to $90/MWh45:28 4CP buffer settings and risk48:58 What missing a 4CP peak really costs51:54 The AI pivot and tier-zero data centers55:11 Where to find Haley and Luxor EnergySponsored by:Altair Technology. ASIC hardware, replacement parts and mining infrastructureCode: HASHRATEUPhttps://altairtech.io/aff/125/HashrateUp Hardware Deals: https://t.me/hashrateupFree 5-Day Bitcoin Mining Course: https://hashrateup.com/newsletter-sign-up/#BitcoinMining #ERCOT #4CP #LuxorEnergy #HashrateUp
Matteo Spinosa, founder and CEO of Doefin, built the first accessible prediction market for Bitcoin miners to hedge difficulty. Doefin lets miners and traders take a directional view on network hashrate โ or lock in revenue certainty before difficulty spikes โ using a Polymarket-style venue where price equals probability.