PodBriefly - Your Podcast Listener Companion

Cash Controls, App-Store Censorship & the Battle for Privacy - Lea Petrasova | Ep. 110

Season 1 Episode 110

My guest today is Lea Petrasova, co-founder and CEO of Vexl, a peer-to-peer bitcoin app that lets people exchange bitcoin privately, without identification (KYC) or any middlemen. Lea is a prominent voice in the European cypherpunk community, dedicated to privacy, digital freedom, and restoring bitcoin’s original peer-to-peer design. We discuss why identity-linked bitcoin undermines true self-custody, how tightening cash controls and app-store censorship accelerate financial surveillance, and why Vexl chose to remain open-source and non-profit. Lea explains Vexl’s reputation-based trust model, the real risks of “dirty fiat,” and the growing global push toward CBDCs and digital IDs. We also explore how Vexl is evolving into a local marketplace for everything from food to services to hardware, showing how private, person-to-person exchange can quietly rebuild resilient, grassroots economies.

→ Please like, comment, share & follow - to help me beat the suppressing big tech algorithms & gov. censorship. Thank you!

-- SPONSORS --

→ Get your TREZOR wallet & accessories, with a 5% discount, using my code at checkout (get my discount code from the episode - yep, you’ll have to watch it): https://affil.trezor.io/SHU

→ Have you tried mining bitcoin? Stack sats directly to your wallet while saving on taxes with Abundant Mines: https://AbundantMines.com/Efrat

– AFFILIATES –

→ Get 10% off on Augmented NAC to detox Spike protein, with the code YCXKQDK2 via this link: https://store.augmentednac.com/?via=efrat (Note, this is not medical advice and you should consult your MD)

→ Be good to your eyes & health, and get the Daylight tablet - a healthier, more human-friendly computer, with zero flicker and zero blue light, by design. Thank me later ;-) https://bit.ly/Efrat_daylight

→ Get a second citizenship and a plan B to relocate to another country with Expat Money, leave your details for a follow up: https://expatmoney.com/efrat

→ Watch “New Totalitarian Order” conference with Prof. Mattias Desmet & Efrat - code EFRAT for 10% off: https://efenigson.gumroad.com/l/desmet_efrat

→ Join me in any of these upcoming events: https://www.efrat.blog/p/upcoming-events

-- LINKS –

Lea’s Twitter: https://x.com/LeaPetras

Vexl’s Twitter: https://x.com/vexl

Vexl’s Website: https://vexl.it/

Efrat's Twitter: https://twitter.com/efenigson

Efrat's Channels: https://linktr.ee/efenigson

Watch/listen on all platforms: https://linktr.ee/yourethevoice

Support Efrat's work: ⁠https://bit.ly/zap_efrat

-- CHAPTERS –

00:00 Coming Up…