Eric FJ | CEO of Conduit Market | The Bitcoin Nova #106

<p>Btc and Nostr are colliding with e-commerce, and Eric FJ says the real opportunity is not another closed platform - it is an open marketplace where users can actually own their identity, move freely, and get paid in Bitcoin. </p>

<p>Staci sits down with Eric FJ, the builder behind Conduit, to unpack why open-source systems, interoperable marketplaces, and Nostr-native commerce may be the missing piece for making Bitcoin useful at everyday scale. If you have ever felt trapped by social platforms, payment processors, or app ecosystems that control your reach, this conversation will hit home. </p>

<p>This conversation is especially meaningful to me because I recorded it shortly after accepting a role with Conduit, and we officially announced that I’m joining the team as Head of Community just before this episode was released. I’m incredibly honored and excited to work alongside a company building freedom tech on open networks, powered by freedom money. Conduit represents so much of what drew me to Bitcoin in the first place: open systems, individual choice, resilience, and creating real tools that people can actually use. </p>

<p>You’ll discover: </p>

<p>Why Eric came to Nostr after reading Lynn Alden’s Broken Money and why the protocol immediately felt different from traditional social media </p>

<p>How open source changes the incentive structure for apps, merchants, and users </p>

<p>Why “switching costs” are the hidden weapon of closed platforms - and how Nostr flips that dynamic </p>

<p>What Conduit is building as an interoperable marketplace layer for NIP-99 commerce </p>

<p>How AI now lets non-coders inspect open-source code and verify what an app is really doing </p>

<p>Why Bitcoin needs real settlement demand, not just paper narratives and treasury-company hype </p>

<p>How merchants can start stacking sats by selling real goods through Bitcoin-native rails </p>

<p>Eric also breaks down the long-term Bitcoin thesis in plain language, from base-layer settlement and mining incentives to why open systems may be the only way to build something resilient enough to survive attacks, deplatforming, or centralized failure. Staci brings the perspective of a Bitcoin creator, merchant, and community builder, connecting the dots between social control, attention economy addiction, and the freedom that decentralized tools can restore. </p>