Guest
Chase Perkins
#1052 Chase Perkins On Building On Bitcoin’s Layer 3
- Impervious.ai is building a peer-to-peer browser on top of Bitcoin's Lightning Network that eliminates the need for centralized intermediaries like Zoom, WhatsApp, and Google for communications, data transfer, and payments. - Layer 3 is a programmatic layer that allows developers to incorporate peer-to-peer capabilities into applications using the Lightning Network as a data, messaging, and command-control layer, not just for payments. - The browser enables encrypted end-to-end video calls, messaging, collaborative documents, and file sharing without any third-party hosting, facilitating, or surveillance—users maintain full control over identity and data routing. - Incumbent tech companies (Zoom, Google, Meta) have no incentive to build this because their business models depend on data harvesting, advertising, and user lock-in through proprietary walled gardens. - Streaming micropayments via Bitcoin Lightning allow creators and service providers to earn satoshis in real time during video calls, messaging, or content consumption without payment processors. - Success is measured by user adoption and normalizing the peer-to-peer internet standard; the team is releasing a free, open-source, production-ready browser this summer with no central point of failure or exploitation.
#259: Bitcoin layer 3, empowering dissidents, and the power of the Lightning Network with Chase Perkins
- Impervious.ai is building a "layer three" application on Bitcoin and Lightning Network that enables peer-to-peer, censorship-resistant communication and data transfer without intermediaries. - The Impervious VPN works by using Lightning Network KeySend to establish ephemeral, cryptographically secure channels between users; once the connection ends, there is no retroactive data trail to inspect. - Beyond VPN, the Impervious API will allow developers to build censorship-resistant applications including podcasts, social networks, video platforms, and publishing tools without requiring users to understand Bitcoin or Lightning. - The core moral argument is that intermediaries (Facebook, Twitter, cloud providers) are unnecessary custodians of user data and vulnerable to hacks, breaches, and authoritarian control; data should only be stored when essential. - User privacy and freedom of thought are as important as sound money; Bitcoin enables both economic empowerment and protection against information dominance and retroactive data manipulation (as seen with the CCP). - Node selection and routing through Lightning enables users to choose which jurisdictions and routing nodes their traffic passes through, reducing reliance on centralized VPN providers.