TFTC: A Bitcoin Podcast
#179: Kevin Mulcrone
- Kevin Mulcrone built Lily Wallet, a multi-sig quorum setup that uses open-source software for self-sovereign Bitcoin custody with a focus on user experience.
- He wrote a thesis on "Free Banking" systems that existed in the United States for 30 years before the Civil War, showing how private currencies competed until governments monopolized money to fund warfare.
- Lily supports Cold Card hardware wallets via USB connection and uses Andrew Chow's HWI library; planned features include Trezor/Ledger support, Lightning Network integration, and PSBT signing for distributed key setups.
- The roadmap includes running a full node within Lily, implementing fee selection, coin selection controls, and eventually support for CoinSwap privacy transactions through market-maker protocols.
- Mulcrone emphasizes Bitcoin as programmable, permissionless money and sees multi-sig as foundational security infrastructure; he views Bitcoin's competition with fiat as a long, gradual process rather than hyper-Bitcoinization.
- He previously built Ethereum-based event ticketing and submarine swap products; he sees value in service providers like Unchained offering customer-friendly custody while maintaining cypherpunk principles.