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Host, Founder & CEO of Volayre, Tedd Huff, sits down with Graham Krizek, Founder and CEO of Voltage, for an episode that cuts through the noise around Bitcoin’s practical applications in modern finance. Krizek brings over a decade of experience in the cryptocurrency space, including contributions to Bitcoin Core and engineering roles at Salesforce, making him uniquely positioned to discuss where Bitcoin infrastructure is heading.

The conversation reveals a striking reality about payment processing that most people never consider. While we’ve grown accustomed to waiting days for bank transfers and hours for wire transfers, the Lightning Network operates in a completely different timeframe. “You can transact with a stable point in that point. Three, eight seconds,” Krizek explains, highlighting a speed advantage that makes traditional payment rails look antiquated.

This isn’t just about faster transactions. The Lightning Network represents a fundamental shift in how value moves across the internet. Unlike credit card payments that create IOUs requiring days to settle, Lightning Network transactions achieve final settlement in under a second. “That is irrevocable that is a hundred percent final,” Krizek emphasizes when comparing Lightning to traditional payment methods that can take days to truly complete.

The mainstream adoption of Bitcoin has accelerated beyond what early adopters might have expected. Krizek recalls the early days when “there’s websites where you could just go to the website and get like a hundred free Bitcoin” through faucet websites, contrasting this with today’s reality where “people like BlackRock, like launching an ETF, um, that is all built on Bitcoin.” This shift from experimental plaything to institutional investment vehicle demonstrates how perception and utility have evolved.

Behind Voltage’s success lies a classic entrepreneurial story of solving a personal problem that turned out to be widespread. Krizek started the company as a side project while working elsewhere, building solutions for problems he encountered in Bitcoin development. The turning point came when Thunder Games, an early customer, began depending on Voltage’s infrastructure for their business operations. “Their business is depending on me now. I can’t be like, Hey, I’m gonna take a vacation, talk to you later. Like we gotta actually support them,” Krizek recalls about the moment he realized the project needed to become a real company.

The technical capabilities of the Lightning Network address limitations that have historically held back Bitcoin adoption for everyday transactions. Traditional Bitcoin transactions can be slow and expensive for small amounts, but Lightning operates as “a peer-to-peer decentralized system” with “virtually no upper bound and the amount of like, transactions per second Lightning can do.” This scalability means Bitcoin can compete with existing payment systems on speed while maintaining the security and finality that traditional systems cannot match.

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The regulatory environment has shifted dramatically in Bitcoin’s favor, creating new opportunities for businesses and financial institutions. Recent guidance from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency allows banks to hold cryptocurrency on behalf of users without requiring special approval. “They just have to follow the best practices,” as Tedd Huff notes about the simplified regulatory framework. This regulatory clarity removes previous barriers that prevented traditional financial institutions from offering Bitcoin services.

For businesses considering Bitcoin integration, the message is clear: Lightning Network should be the default choice for Bitcoin transactions. “If you’re moving Bitcoin at all in like today’s world, you should be using lightning for it, um, rather than doing it on chain. It’s just gonna be cheaper and faster for you,” Krizek states. This practical advice reflects years of experience building infrastructure that businesses actually use rather than theoretical solutions.

The complexity of implementing Bitcoin infrastructure properly cannot be understated. Companies attempting to build Lightning Network capabilities from scratch face significant technical challenges. “Just trying to figure out all this stuff from Ground Zero is the whole reason why we started the company in the first place. Just because it is a big, daunting task that really no one should, should be doing,” Krizek explains. This complexity creates opportunities for specialized providers who can handle the technical implementation while businesses focus on their core operations.

The broader implications extend beyond just faster payments. Bitcoin’s infrastructure improvements are democratizing access to financial services globally. Traditional banking infrastructure requires physical presence and regulatory approval in each jurisdiction, but Bitcoin-based solutions can reach areas where traditional banking cannot. This accessibility particularly matters in regions where traditional financial infrastructure remains limited or expensive.

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The conversation touches on how Bitcoin adoption patterns differ from traditional technology adoption curves. Rather than following typical consumer-to-enterprise patterns, Bitcoin has seen simultaneous adoption across individual users, businesses, and now institutional investors. This multi-layered adoption creates unique dynamics where infrastructure needs must serve everyone from individual users to major corporations simultaneously.

What emerges from this discussion is a picture of Bitcoin infrastructure maturing rapidly while maintaining its core advantages. The Lightning Network solves practical problems that prevented Bitcoin from competing with traditional payment systems, while regulatory clarity opens doors for mainstream financial institutions to participate. Companies like Voltage are building the infrastructure layer that makes Bitcoin adoption practical for businesses that want the benefits without the complexity.

The episode reveals how Bitcoin has moved from experimental technology to practical infrastructure that solves real business problems. The speed, cost, and finality advantages of Lightning Network transactions create compelling value propositions for businesses currently relying on slower, more expensive traditional payment systems. As regulatory barriers continue falling and infrastructure matures, Bitcoin’s role in mainstream finance appears increasingly inevitable rather than speculative.

For anyone wondering whether Bitcoin represents a passing trend or lasting change in financial infrastructure, this conversation provides concrete evidence of practical applications already solving real problems. The question is no longer whether Bitcoin will find mainstream adoption, but how quickly businesses will recognize and capitalize on the advantages it already offers.

TLDR:

Host, Founder & CEO of Volayre, Tedd Huff, sits down with Graham Krizek, Founder and CEO of Voltage, to explore how Bitcoin’s Lightning Network is reshaping payment infrastructure. While traditional bank transfers take days and wire transfers take hours, Lightning Network transactions settle in under a second with complete finality. Krizek, who brings over a decade of cryptocurrency experience including contributions to Bitcoin Core, explains how Bitcoin has evolved from experimental faucet websites giving away free coins to institutional adoption by companies like BlackRock launching Bitcoin ETFs.

The conversation reveals why Lightning Network should be the default choice for any Bitcoin transactions today, offering cheaper and faster alternatives to traditional on-chain payments. Krizek shares how Voltage started as a side project but became essential when early customers like Thunder Games began depending on their infrastructure for business operations. With regulatory barriers falling and banks now able to hold cryptocurrency without special approval, the technical complexity of implementing Bitcoin infrastructure properly creates opportunities for specialized providers. The episode demonstrates how Bitcoin has moved from experimental technology to practical infrastructure solving real business problems, with Lightning Network addressing the speed and cost limitations that previously prevented mainstream adoption.

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Key Highlights:

Seconds vs Days

The conversation reveals a striking reality about payment processing that most people never consider. While we’ve grown accustomed to waiting days for bank transfers and hours for wire transfers, the Lightning Network operates in a completely different timeframe. “You can transact with a stable point in that point. Three, eight seconds,” Krizek explains, highlighting a speed advantage that makes traditional payment rails look antiquated.

Free Bitcoin Era

The mainstream adoption of Bitcoin has accelerated beyond what early adopters might have expected. Krizek recalls the early days when “there’s websites where you could just go to the website and get like a hundred free Bitcoin” through faucet websites, contrasting this with today’s reality where “people like BlackRock, like launching an ETF, um, that is all built on Bitcoin”.

Side Project Reality

Behind Voltage’s success lies a classic entrepreneurial story of solving a personal problem that turned out to be widespread. Krizek started the company as a side project while working elsewhere, building solutions for problems he encountered in Bitcoin development.

Business Depends On Me

The turning point came when Thunder Games, an early customer, began depending on Voltage’s infrastructure for their business operations. “Their business is depending on me now. I can’t be like, Hey, I’m gonna take a vacation, talk to you later. Like we gotta actually support them,” Krizek recalls about the moment he realized the project needed to become a real company.

Virtually No Upper Bound

The technical capabilities of the Lightning Network address limitations that have historically held back Bitcoin adoption for everyday transactions. Traditional Bitcoin transactions can be slow and expensive for small amounts, but Lightning operates as “a peer-to-peer decentralized system” with “virtually no upper bound and the amount of like, transactions per second Lightning can do”.

Banks Don’t Need Permission

The regulatory environment has shifted dramatically in Bitcoin’s favor, creating new opportunities for businesses and financial institutions. Recent guidance from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency allows banks to hold cryptocurrency on behalf of users without requiring special approval. “They just have to follow the best practices,” as Tedd Huff notes about the simplified regulatory framework.

Always Use Lightning

For businesses considering Bitcoin integration, the message is clear: Lightning Network should be the default choice for Bitcoin transactions. “If you’re moving Bitcoin at all in like today’s world, you should be using lightning for it, um, rather than doing it on chain. It’s just gonna be cheaper and faster for you,” Krizek states.

Daunting Task Warning

The complexity of implementing Bitcoin infrastructure properly cannot be understated. Companies attempting to build Lightning Network capabilities from scratch face significant technical challenges. “Just trying to figure out all this stuff from Ground Zero is the whole reason why we started the company in the first place. Just because it is a big, daunting task that really no one should, should be doing,” Krizek explains.

IOUs vs Final

This isn’t just about faster transactions. The Lightning Network represents a fundamental shift in how value moves across the internet. Unlike credit card payments that create IOUs requiring days to settle, Lightning Network transactions achieve final settlement in under a second. “That is irrevocable that is a hundred percent final,” Krizek emphasizes when comparing Lightning to traditional payment methods that can take days to truly complete.

Banking Infrastructure Problem

The broader implications extend beyond just faster payments. Bitcoin’s infrastructure improvements are democratizing access to financial services globally. Traditional banking infrastructure requires physical presence and regulatory approval in each jurisdiction, but Bitcoin-based solutions can reach areas where traditional banking cannot.

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Takeaways:

1️⃣ Switch to Lightning Payments

Stop using traditional on-chain Bitcoin transactions for everyday business operations. Lightning Network processes payments in under four seconds with final settlement, making it cheaper and faster than any traditional payment method that creates IOUs requiring days to clear.

2️⃣ Leverage New Banking Rules

Take advantage of recent regulatory changes that allow banks to hold cryptocurrency without special government approval. These simplified compliance requirements open doors for traditional financial institutions to offer Bitcoin services following standard best practices.

3️⃣ Avoid Infrastructure Building

Don’t attempt to build Lightning Network capabilities from ground zero with internal teams. The technical complexity requires specialized knowledge that takes months to develop, making it more cost-effective to use established infrastructure providers.

4️⃣ Target Global Markets

Focus on regions where traditional banking infrastructure fails to reach customers effectively. Bitcoin-based solutions can access underserved markets without requiring physical banking presence or jurisdiction-specific regulatory approval in each location.

5️⃣ Prepare for Consolidation

Position your business strategy around the coming consolidation phase in Bitcoin infrastructure. Companies will soon determine which solutions work best for specific use cases, creating opportunities for strategic partnerships and market positioning.

Links:

Graham Krizek

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/grahamkrizek

Twitter/X: https://x.com/gkrizek

Nostr: [email protected]

Voltage

Website: https://voltage.cloud

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/voltagecloud/

Twitter/X: https://x.com/voltage_cloud

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/voltagecloud

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@voltage_cloud

Nostr: [email protected]

Case Studies: https://www.voltage.cloud/case-studies

Fintech Confidential

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Podcast: https://fintechconfidential.com/listen

Notifications: https://fintechconfidential.com/access

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/fintechconfidential

X: https://X.com/FTconfidential

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Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fintechconfidential

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Time Stamps:

About The Guest:

Graham Krizek, Founder and CEO | Voltage

Graham Krizek is the Founder and CEO of Voltage. With over a decade of experience in the cryptocurrency industry, he has contributed to the Bitcoin Core project and worked in technical roles at companies like Salesforce. His expertise lies in infrastructure development for the Bitcoin Lightning Network, where he helps businesses streamline and scale global payments through low-cost, high-speed settlement technologies.

Voltage

Voltage is a Bitcoin infrastructure company focused on enabling global payments through the Lightning Network. It offers enterprise-grade modular tools for exchanges, wallets, fintechs, and banks to reduce costs, speed up settlements, and simplify integration of Bitcoin and stablecoin payments. Voltage serves as the backend that powers fast, final transactions with low fees, bridging traditional finance with emerging blockchain technologies.

About the Host:

Tedd Huff: 

Tedd Huff is the Founder of Voalyre, and Diamond D3, professional services consulting firms focused on global payments and marketing. He is also a video podcast host and executive producer on the Fintech Confidential network.

Over the past 24 years, he has contributed to FinTech startups as an Advisory Board Member, Co-Founder, and Chief Experience Officer, providing strategic and tactical direction for Global Payments OpenEdge, Heartland Payments, Nuvei, and TSYS, among others, focusing on growth while delivering innovation, process improvements and user experience-driven value to simplify the complexity of payments.

DD3, Media: 

DD3 Media is a media creation, management, and production company delivering engaging content globally

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