Founder: Evan Kaludis
Establishment date: 2019, block 563345; incorporated in 2023
Head office location: There is no headquarters.fully remote
Amount of Bitcoin held in the Treasury: not disclosed
Number of employees: 2
Website: https://zeusln.com/
Public or private? private
On April 26, 2024, Evan Karoudis drew a line in the sand.
In response to the news of Samourai Wallet developer arrested and Phoenix Wallet suspends service to US customershe has made it public that he intends to fight fiercely for Bitcoin self-control. lightning network Wallets like the ZEUS he created will continue to exist.
https://t.co/n0ye9TcNYd pic.twitter.com/Me5ixLeBT0
— Evan Kaloudis (@evankaloudis) April 26, 2024
He argued that the right to private self-control of Bitcoin in the United States must be defended at all costs.
Karoudis’ words cut through the tension in the Bitcoin world, especially in the X world, where the sense of hopelessness was palpable.
A week and a half after Karoudis released his heartfelt statement, I caught up with him virtually to learn more about his next plans. Zeus This is one of the most dynamic Lightning wallets on the market today, at a time when those in power seem to want to keep all Bitcoin within a walled garden and tied to the user’s identity. is moving to.
Below is a transcript of our conversation, edited for length and clarity.
Frank Korba: What is the mission of ZEUS and what makes it different from other Lightning wallets?
Evan Karoudis: Zeus really hates compromise.
We’ve seen many wallets that create trade-offs for a variety of reasons. We’ve seen wallets that just want to offer the sharpest UX at the expense of self-control and privacy. We’ve seen Silicon Valley wallets that lock you into a walled garden.
Zeus wants to give users the ability to pay with Bitcoin their way. That’s true whether you’re just starting out or want to launch a full Lightning node in your pocket (Editor’s note: ZEUS lets you run Lightning nodes on your phone). Or if you’re a more seasoned veteran and running a full node at home.Maybe it is umbrella or start 9Or maybe you’re running something on the cloud. Voltage –So you can also connect to ZEUS.
There are multiple ways to connect. There are multiple backends we support. We want people to be able to make Lightning payments as freely as possible, with minimal intermediaries, and maximum privacy.
Korba: Given that Phoenix has suspended service for US customers following the recent crackdown on Samourai developers. Wasabi Wallet ends coinjoin servicedo you feel it is inevitable that someday the authorities will target ZEUS?
Kaludis: I think it’s very likely that Zeus will be a target in the future. Unless the country’s outlook on Bitcoin changes significantly, that’s all but inevitable.
And regulators have no idea how the Lightning Network works. It can be interpreted in so many different ways. But they know that when they come down with the clamps, they have to come down hard.
This is very helpful for developers and people providing products and services to keep things in perspective. We have made great progress over the past six to seven years, but we still have a long way to go.
Korba: What’s interesting is that Bitcoin’s price rise appears to have little to do with people adopting Bitcoin as a medium of exchange.
Kaludis: What are the common use cases for Bitcoin right now? Is it people just trading it like a stock or using it as an entry tool to bet on shitty coins or meme coins in this cycle? is. People don’t fully understand technology. Meanwhile, those at the top see the writing on the wall and are trying to nip it in the bud while they can. In fact, the medium of exchange is their biggest threat.
The Michael Thalers of the world, the Larry Finks of the world, the people who are offering ETFs just to drive up the numbers, they need to make sure that everyone who participates in them is well-organized and KYC and accounted for. You’ll be more than happy. All, and if it really didn’t take root as something people keep for themselves or use as a medium of exchange.
Korba: Is this why the latest version of ZEUS put a node on their phone rather than assuming that people would run it at home and use ZEUS as a remote control of sorts? Is it aimed at making it easier to use as a medium of exchange?
Kaludis: We really bridged the gap for them by putting it on the phone and providing basically all the same functionality that a remote user would have.
I think ZEUS will really evolve significantly, but our priorities and two strong policies are self-management and no KYC.
My guess would be to either stop offering these Bitcoin payment channels in certain jurisdictions (OFAC etc. compliance is already required) or shut down the company.
We have developed amazing products that empower so many people. olympus (a properly connected Lightning node running ZEUS) and LSP I’m sure there are thousands of people still using this software if they use the service. And I’m sure people will continue to contribute at the open source level to continue to make it better.
Korba: It’s disheartening to think that someone like you would even consider having to leave the company. There aren’t many people in this field who can build what you’ve built. So I think the next person with your skills might not even consider starting as a founder in this space.
Kaludis: With this crackdown, we really saw a chilling effect. This is a real home run for the other side, and there is no doubt that things could snowball and drive even more people out of the market.
I sincerely hope that my actions inspire others to take a stand instead of self-policing or pre-emptively exiting the market.
On the other hand, if you talk to people who are developing that space or doing their own startups, they already know that what they’re doing is crazy. They say, “Hey, I can work at one of these FAANG companies and easily make $200, $300. And if I work on Bitcoin and put in the effort, I have a fraction of the chance of success. I know I can earn a fraction of that. Start your own company. ”
But that’s the problem with Bitcoin developers. Despite all the challenges and increasing pressures that lie ahead, there is nothing else they would rather do. This is a moonshot, but if successful it will change the whole world. So I think there are still a lot of crazy developers out there.
Korba: After seeing what happened to the Samourai developers and how prosecutors are using this information, do you think these developers will be a little less hostile in public? Tweet In it, did they welcome the Russian oligarchy to use their services in a case against them? Do you think it’s better to be verbally aggressive or do you think it’s better to keep your head down and do your job quietly?
Kaludis: Hey, it’s really fun to come out with all the bravado, you know? And the Samurai people have built an entire brand around that. They have essentially amassed an army of devoted fans and users, which has greatly contributed to their success.
If you’re a nim and have the ability, keep talking shit. But if you’re a public figure, it’s not wise to poke a bear or kick a hornet’s nest, as Satoshi said.
We need to start thinking a little more critically. There are still many concessions we have to make in the ongoing battle. You need to be strategic to win the war.
Korba: Let’s move on to something more optimistic: your plans for ZEUS. And let me ask you some questions that some plebeians of Nostr and X asked me. Are you looking for a way for self-custodial users to receive payments without first funding the channel with Bitcoin? What would this look like?
Kaludis: Great question. There are many challenges in terms of self-management.We have the following people super test net People who have come up with really innovative ways to do things self-managed with payments, like what we’ve done. ZEUS Lightning Address and new stuff like this hedgehog protocol.
Challenges still remain before financing. This is a difficult challenge that we are trying to tackle.
I think ultimately there will be a lot of protocol-level changes needed to Bitcoin. These are the ones we are more bullish on and still allow for self-custody.we are really bullish pledge. We are very bullish on coin pools and payment pools.something like Ark It’s quite innovative.
We don’t want people to spend a fortune setting up payment channels. As the price of Bitcoin continues to rise, opening your first channel and using ZEUS self-managed becomes more expensive, at least in dollar terms.
We want to avoid that in the future, but we also want to say, “Hey, this ossification drive is stupid. It’s going to cripple Bitcoin.” Those people would be more than happy if the core codebase and protocols remained as they were. Let’s think about who really benefits if this continues.
There’s still a lot of work to do to expand, so let’s move forward with an open mind and see what other proposals might be in the future.
Korba: When can I introduce splicing to ZEUS?
Kaludis: splicing is what we depend on LND for. I would love to bring one, but does anyone know? You’ll probably see it in the core Lightning interface as well. It would probably be easier to see it sooner than a node embedded in Zeus. Beyond what it can do for your users, it’s really beneficial in terms of reducing your costs as a Lightning service provider.
Korba: How does ZEUS integrate with Nostr?
Kaludis: Zeus currently has two Nostr integrations.
Zeus has a contact book and you can import all your contacts from Nostr. This makes it easy to send payments to people you follow. In that sense, it’s like a decentralized Cash App or a decentralized Venmo for payments for people who are used to this in the United States.
We also use Nostr to power our self-custodial Lightning Address Service. This is a first of its kind service on mobile his wallet powered by the great Super Testnet. zap locker It follows the spec and essentially uses the Nostr key to sign the invoice that the server serves to the user. So if you have a compatible ZapLocker wallet, you can say: “Oh yeah, this invoice hash is signed by Frank. Press this button to really look at Frank’s profile and confirm it’s really him.” Who signed it? ”
Korba: With all the innovations you bring to ZEUS, do you keep existing regulations in mind when building, or do you just build and hope you don’t break any laws?
Kaludis: We must act with integrity. We have already taken steps to prevent malicious parties from using our systems.
If regulators come knocking on our door, we’ll probably have to show them that it’s not just free for everyone here. We also have data that can help us identify malicious users and kick them off the platform.
I’m not going to say, “Hey, the Russian oligarchs are now using Olympus.” Because even if you try to do that, you won’t get very far. ZEUS does not support it at all.
The advantage of ZEUS is the freedom to make daily payments.
What guides us is our strong policy, and our strong policy is self-control and no KYC. We do not make payments on your behalf. We’re just empowering them to make those payments themselves.
If we are labeled as a money services business, then everything else will be covered, from individual Lightning node operators to miners and potentially self-management. And as I said in my post, that’s the hill to die on: self-custody.
The alternative is too dire to even consider, and it will take some people, primarily within the United States, to rise up.
