THE Bitcoin Podcast – “Bitcoin Spam is Bad. So is BIP-110.”

Host: Walker America

Guest: Giacomo Zucco

Air Date: March 13, 2026

Episode Overview

In this fiery, insightful episode, Walker America sits down with Bitcoin educator and curator Giacomo Zucco to confront perhaps the most contentious topic in Bitcoin today: "spam", "BIP-110", and the social, technical, and political rifts threatening the protocol’s cohesion. The discussion pivots from Zucco’s anti-spam crusade to a comprehensive breakdown of BIP-110, its merits, flaws, and broader implications for Bitcoin governance and culture. Zucco also shares updates on the explosive growth of Plan B in Lugano and the cypherpunk-driven Cypher Tank initiative, all while keeping the tone sharp, unscripted, and unfiltered.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Giacomo Zucco on Plan B & Cypher Tank

[01:22–12:30]

• Plan B Overview:

  • Originates from Lugano’s partnership with Tether (2022), with five main goals:
    1. Network of merchants accepting Bitcoin and stablecoins (USDT, CHF Stablecoin)
    2. Summer schools for global Bitcoin education
    3. Establishment of a "Bitcoin hub" for startups and research
    4. Creation of a VC fund for Bitcoin initiatives
    5. Launch of a multi-national Bitcoin forum
  • Rapid growth: From a handful of participants to “6,000+ people turnover during the last Plan B week” and over 400 merchants in Lugano accepting Bitcoin ([05:46]).

• Cypher Tank:

  • Bitcoin's answer to Shark Tank—funding both for-profit and non-profit Bitcoin projects, featuring unscripted, improvised pitching by MCs.
  • Resulted in “$850,000 total for six projects, three for-profit, three nonprofit” ([09:46]).
  • Positive reception led to discussions for more extensive future editions.

• Plan B’s Approach:

  • Noted strengths: grassroots energy, results-driven action, Italian “improvisational” style.
  • Recent expansions include university programs and a growing international presence.

2. On Bitcoin Debates & Community Division

[12:30–15:21]

• Debate Culture:
  • Zucco credits John Carvalho for introducing formal debate panels at conferences: “Panels, they tend to be…circle jerky...in debates you can actually make your statements and they are useful…to educate the public in a dialectic way.” ([14:10], Zucco)
• Need for Contention:
  • Both agree that Bitcoin debates foster critical thinking and challenge dogmatism; critical, as the protocol faces mounting “work-things-out-in-public” pressure.

3. Spam, Censorship and the Core of the Bitcoin Debate

[19:58–47:27]

• Spam is Definitionally Spam:

  • Zucco’s stance: “Spam is well defined…communication in bulk which is not welcomed or desired by the receiver in digital format. So that's very clear. And that was spam.” ([19:58], Zucco)
  • Fee payment does not legitimize spam: “If he pays a fee, it's not spam. That's nonsense.” ([19:58], Zucco)

• Filtering vs. Censorship:

  • Filtering spam is not censorship, particularly if done at the mempool rather than the consensus level.
  • “For me, fighting spam, if anything is a mempool thing. Consensus is not.” ([22:19], Zucco)

• Argument Evolution:

  • Early community consensus held that spam filtering should not be a consensus change.
  • As spam-related attacks (including “CSAM panic”) escalated, debate migrated toward proposals like BIP-110, shifting the Overton Window:
    • “The political spectrum of the Nazis moved so far on the left that now I remain a dangerous right wing pro core spammer.” ([29:16], Zucco)

• On Ordinals/Inscriptions:

  • Continues to denounce ordinal/inscription data as “retarded” and spam.
  • Argues monetary transactions are often indistinguishable from spam from a technical viewpoint.

• Layer 2 as a Solution:

  • Layer-2 solutions (e.g., Lightning, Ark) are critical for spam mitigation:
    • “The mitigation of spam is moving as much as economics we can to the second layers and to off chain.” ([38:16], Zucco)
    • Irony: “The camp of BIP110 right now…tends to be against layer 2s because he sees layer 2s as spam. It's the opposite. It's the answer to spam.” ([41:25], Zucco)

4. The BIP-110 Soft Fork: Dissection and Critique

[47:27–87:29]

• Knots Filtering Realization:

  • Emergence of BIP-110 signals relay-level filtering couldn’t curb spam as hoped:
    • “Does the emergence of BIP110 broadly just signal that the knots filtering didn't actually work at the relay level?... Yes, it does, but that signals an inconsistency anyway because what we were saying back then is… I know that filtering is difficult, but… we are still signaling and increasing friction.” ([48:31], Zucco)

• Philosophical Parallel—Immigration and Fallacy:

  • Zucco draws a comparison to immigration policy debates: wishing for total solution after partial measures fail is a psychological trick, not real pragmatism.

• BIP-110’s Weaknesses:

  • Criticisms include:
    1. Activation Mechanism:
       • “It includes an activation method…with a relatively low hash rate readiness threshold…If it doesn't meet that threshold, it will still activate regardless. Which I think is bad.” ([76:53], Zucco)
       • Opposes UASF-style “emergency” soft forks unless threat is truly existential.
    2. Emergency Framing:
       • Initial justification was “legal compliance” (now removed), which he describes as “a statist cuck thing to do” ([87:29], Walker).
       • Urgency around spam/CSAM is, in Zucco’s view, overblown and used for emotional manipulation:
         • “If you try to push an emergency on me, red flag.” ([77:29], Zucco)
    3. Sloppy Technicals:
       • Core v30 OP_RETURN policy change was “sloppy” and handled in a way that felt like a “power flex” or provocation to Zucco ([83:00], Zucco).
       • BIP-110’s restrictions break compatibility for certain wallets (miniscript/Nunchak), causing unnecessary disruptions.
    4. Wasting of Scarce Consensus Change:
       • “Changing consensus is harder and harder... This feels like a temporary emergency LED fork, which is not really an emergency. It's a waste of scarce coordination space for a good fork.” ([80:10], Zucco)

• What Will Happen?

  • Zucco expects BIP-110 to fail either due to insufficient miner signaling, or through post-activation abandonment:
    • “I think the signaling will be so low and any kind of future markets will signal such a low interest for this post fork coin... The fork will fail. And by failing it will reduce the credibility of what was my camp.” ([88:26], Zucco)
  • Predicts key anti-spam voices will become marginalized, weakening their camp’s credibility and diminishing community cohesion.
  • Memorable closing:
    • “That’s basically my fear. I cannot change it. What I can do is voice opposition to that because at least my credibility and enthusiasm will be unwavering and I can keep the fight until they recover from the loss.” ([93:46], Zucco)

Notable Quotes & Moments

• On ideological drift and social backlash:

  “The political spectrum of the Nazis moved so far on the left that now I remain a dangerous right wing pro core spammer.” – Giacomo Zucco ([29:16])

• On Bitcoin culture and tolerance:

  “Bitcoin, unlike corporate world…is tolerant of crazy weirdos as long as they provide something useful for bitcoin.” – Giacomo Zucco ([34:09])

• On wokeism and open source:

  “I think Bitcoin has been blessed… It was the most work resistant open source project ever. That said…wokeness in software was a problem.” – Giacomo Zucco ([60:38])

• Giacomo’s position on BIP-110:

  “I will explain and double down. There are many things I don't like on BAP 110…” – Giacomo Zucco ([76:53])

• Summing up the spam fight:

  “Bitcoin will not die for spam either. Not because spam is not a problem. I think spam is a serious problem in bitcoin.” – Giacomo Zucco ([34:00])

• On the future of BIP-110:

  “The fork will fail. And by failing it will reduce the credibility of what was my camp.” – Giacomo Zucco ([88:26] & [94:00>])

Key Timestamps

• [01:22–12:30]: Giacomo details Plan B’s explosive growth, the merchant network, and Cypher Tank’s success.
• [14:10]: On the value of debates and moving past “circle jerky” Bitcoin panels.
• [19:58]: Spam’s definition, the core debate about inclusion/censorship, and ordinals.
• [29:16]: Ideological drift in the anti-spam camp.
• [34:00]: How layer 2 solutions solve for spam, off-chain vs on-chain efficiency.
• [47:27]: Walker probes whether BIP-110’s consensus push was capitulation after failed filtering.
• [60:38]: Wokism’s entry into open source/Bitcoin, the impact on Bitcoin Core.
• [76:53]: Zucco critiques BIP-110 in detail.
• [88:26]: Zucco forecasts the likely failure and fallout of BIP-110.
• [94:00–96:40]: Closing thanks, plugs for Plan B and Cypher Tank, and playful banter.

Resources & Further Reading

• Cypher Tank: cyphertank.org
• Plan B Network: planb.network (and related Plan B initiatives)
• Walker America on Nostr: primal.net/walker
• Giacomo Zucco on X: @giacomozucco

Summary & Takeaways

This marathon episode provided a masterclass in Bitcoin civics: the technical, social, and political games that shape Bitcoin’s direction. Giacomo Zucco, an incisive anti-spam voice, lays out why BIP-110 represents a consensus-level misstep, rooted in performative urgency and, ultimately, destined for rejection. More broadly, the episode is a sobering exploration of Bitcoin’s capacity for dialogue, its resistance to cultural and ideological capture, and the eternal struggle to remain both open and robust in an ever-polarizing world.

Bottom line:
“Spam is bad. But BIP-110 is worse.”
The best hope for Bitcoin? “Move the real action off-chain, keep the protocol tight, and don’t confuse urgency with wisdom.”