Bitcoin’s 3 Biggest Challenges - Neha’s Interview with Isabel Foxen Duke
Neha Narula is the Director of the MIT Digital Currency Initiative, where she focuses on Bitcoin research and the broader design tradeoffs of decentralized money systems.
Her work often centers on what Bitcoin gets right—and where it runs into hard limits—especially around scaling, decentralization, and how systems behave as global demand increases.
In this interview, Neha and I explore longer-term risks to Bitcoin—including advancements in quantum computing and the implications of a diminishing block subsidy—as well as the ongoing challenge of scaling Bitcoin without losing access to self-custody.
A thoughtful conversation on how Bitcoin may change in the coming years, we also explore its social and governance dynamics—including tensions within the development community over protocol changes, scaling philosophies, and the future direction of the system.
This episode of Bitcoin Rails is brought to you by:
LayerTwo Labs @LayerTwoLabs
— developing research, software, and technologies for scaling Bitcoin via the integration of Drivechains (BIP 300/301)
Hashi on @SuiNetwork
— a primitive for executing Bitcoin Defi transactions, without having to trust a federated bridge or other centralized entity
BitBox @BitBoxSwiss
— an open-source Bitcoin-only hardware wallet, with smooth UX and no compromises on security. Check out Bitbox [dot] swiss and use code BITCOINRAILS to get a discount
TIMESTAMPS: 00:00 Intro 00:17 Neha’s Origins 02:26 Bitcoin to MIT 04:40 Media Lab Culture and Mission 11:34 CBDCs as Digital Cash Debate 24:42 Funding Model and Bitcoin Security Budget 29:55 Reorg Risk and Quantum Computing 32:14 Bitcoin Dev Funding Map 42:49 Governance and Corporate Stakes 50:23 Quantum Tradeoffs Framework 56:02 Post Quantum Proposals 58:59 Prioritize PQ Transactions 01:00:54 Satoshi Coins Debate 01:02:12 Mining Incentives And Price 01:08:08 Corporate Funding And Governance 01:10:54 Scaling Self Custody And L2s 01:20:30 Bitcoin Kernel And Wrap Up