Monero Talk

Trust-Minimized XMR Liquidity: Atomic Swaps Without Bridges or KYC with Omar Espejel | EPI 374

December 24th, 2025  |  55 mins 41 secs

bitcoin, blake2, blockchain, crypto, cryptocurrency, defi, fungible, monero, monerotalk, monerotopia, omarespejel, privacy, privacycoin, serai, starknet, xmr

TODAY'S SHOW: In this episode of Monero Talk Douglas Tuman has a conversation with Omar Espejel, a StarkNet Foundation developer building trustless atomic swaps between Monero and StarkNet, aimed at providing decentralized on- and off-ramps amid widespread exchange delistings. Omar explains his background in the StarkNet ecosystem, his alignment with Monero’s privacy-first values, and a personal experience that led him to prioritize financial privacy. The discussion focuses on a new atomic swap design enabled by StarkNet’s recent move to BLAKE2s hashing, allowing low-cost, peer-to-peer swaps where cryptographic guarantees ensure either both parties succeed or both fail.

By leveraging audited, open-source code from the Monero community (notably Serai and Commit Network), the project allows Monero users to access broader liquidity and Ethereum DeFi without wrapped assets or trusted bridges. Omar outlines StarkNet’s evolving privacy roadmap, and his intention to present the work at Monero Topia, as part of a broader resurgence in privacy-focused crypto infrastructure.

J.W. Verret’s Debrief of the SEC Roundtable on Financial Surveillance & Privacy | EPI 373

December 19th, 2025  |  1 hr 2 mins

bitcoin, blockchain, crypto, cryptocurrency, defi, fungible, garygensler, jwverret, monero, monerotalk, monerotopia, privacy, privacycoin, sec, tomemmert, tommassey, xmr, zcash

TODAY'S SHOW: In this episode of Monero Talk, Douglas Tuman and J.W. Verrett discuss privacy in cryptocurrency, regulatory issues, and the latest developments in the crypto space. J.W. shares insights from a recent SEC roundtable on privacy, where he praised SEC Chairman Gary Gensler's unexpected pro-privacy stance.

The conversation also touches on crypto-friendly politicians, including Congressmen Tom Massey and Tom Emmert, and discusses the potential of tokenized equity in DeFi, allowing global access to U.S. markets. JW highlights legal challenges faced by privacy tool developers, offers thoughts on Monero vs. Zcash, and reflects on recent progress within the Zcash Foundation.

Chris Blec On Monero

October 4th, 2021  |  1 hr 31 mins

bitcoin, blockchain, cakewallet, changenow, chrisblec, crypto, cryptocurrency, decentralized, defi, monero, moneronews, privacy, privacycoin, sweetwaterdigitalconsulting, technology, xmr, xmrnews

TODAY'S 🎙SHOW: Douglas Tuman interviews Chris Blec, an online public figure known for his efforts to educate the masses about DeFi space and its potential flaws while pushing for more transparency and accountability among projects.

The two discuss Chris’ journey to becoming a Defi watchdog, where his passion for privacy comes from and the general lack of understanding the public has for why privacy is necessary.

The two also discuss the importance of Monero and why it will be absolutely crucial in the future, the potential banning of Monero and how Institutional investors need for privacy may drive interest in Monero in the future.