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