Humans of Bitcoin

"What that means is it's a grey area.... We wanted to be patient and see the token models that worked, the token models that did not, and the things that we should stay away from as a business." If you are going to start a business in cryptocurrency, you must deal with a high level of regulatory and legal uncertainty. Navigating the world of KYC, lawyer fees, and vague directives from government agencies, ShapeShift has evolved over the last 5 years. The uncertainty has caused Erik to make some very tough decisions in order to stay relevant as a cryptocurrency company. Recently, they launched commission-free trading with the FOX token. Erik walks through this decision, the critics of their move to implement KYC/AML, and views on money and state. After all, you don't have to go through KYC when you go out to eat at a restaurant.

Even though Anthony Pompliano's Morgan Creek Digital holds BCH as it's 3rd largest asset, he'll rarely, if ever, talk about it in public. I'm not picking on Pomp, this is par for the course among the crypto fund community. Justin Bons is not your typical fund manager. He proudly engages with the Bitcoin Cash community and is excited about the future. How do you apply "investing in fundamentals" to the world of cryptocurrency? What's it like running a fund with 0 BTC? Justin shares his views on fundamentals, governance and why you should care about cryptocurrency in the first place.

In 2017, the bitcoin community was outraged by the extreme negligence of Equifax in one of the largest data breaches ever. A central point of vulnerability was hacked and personal data including social security and credit card numbers were leaked onto the interwebs. We have a short memory: Equifax stock is up roughly 43% this year! Two years later, Reuben and his company, Class Action Inc are still fighting for the people. They recently filed an objection to a laughable settlement offer: less than $5 per person to less than 10% of those affected. We discuss data freedom, digitizing law, and decentralizing power.

The inflation rate in Argentina is currently at 55% per year. It's not a surprise that bitcoin has a strong following and usage there. A talented developer and thinker, Santiago is the founder of Democracy Earth. He's someone that gets a ring from political activists in Chile and Mexico asking him for advice on how to organize digitally. He declined to work with the political party in Mexico due to ethical reasons. He also started a political party, the Net Party, in 2012 in Argentina. I'll leave it there. Listen to the episode!!

This is the first of a two part special on the Ethereum ecosystem. Lawson Baker has a weapon is his toolkit that is quite useful in the crypto world: a law degree. With a background in finance, Lawson understands the power of cryptoassets and the regulatory guidelines that have to be met. We talk about narratives in crypto, stablecoins, privacy, and a token standard he has helped push along: the ERC-1404.      

For a long time (in crypto terms) Bitcoin Cash has been largely ignored by institutional investors. Dave Shin is working to change that. Dave is a banker by day and bitcoiner by night. His double life is starting to pay dividends. In addition to running the Bitcoin.com exchange, he is raising awareness of the viability of Bitcoin Cash as an asset to the international banking crowd.

An engineer running for Congress in San Fran, Agatha offers a unique skillset and ideas not found in the current House of Representatives. She is an advocate for blockchain tech, cryptocurrency, and prison reform. What I really appreciate about Agatha is her willingness to discuss any topic. She gave smart and candid answers to questions that 99% of politicians would have deflected. We talk about the way money works today, the benefits of a public ledger for the government, and much more.

An inside look at Wachsman - The public relations arm for top crypto companies like Bitmex, Kraken, and Coindesk. A behind the scenes juggernaut with a team of 100 employees with offices in 3 countries. Going into the interview, I was curious how David was able to scale his PR expertise into a global team. How do they handle those emergency situations?  What about their relationships with press contacts? How do they manage clients who may be directly or indirectly competing with each other?  

Filmmaker, researcher, and cryptocurrency advocate Peter Ryan talks about growth marketing for Bitcoin Cash. He started at NYU and then went to THE media establishment of the industry: CoinDesk. Now, Peter has rolled the dice and joined media upstart CoinSpice. What excites him about CoinSpice? How can Bitcoin Cash become a "winning culture"?

Andreas shares his thoughts on global politics and finance and ties it back to bitcoin. Learn why his current project, Sideshift.ai, a cutting edge, non-custodial exchange is a reflection of these world views. Andreas loves what he does: coding. Usually from a tropical location. Until recently, he had the largest node on the Lightning Network. He's also famous (or infamous?) for testing IOTA, creating and providing liquidity for SLP tokens on Bitcoin Cash, he enjoys playing with cryptocurrencies. If I had to describe him in one sentence: A Norwegian libertarian wearing a gold shitcoin.com chain, Andreas combine his under-the-hood tinkering with cryptos and experience at exchanges since 2013 and now his own exchange Sideshift.ai.

Back for part 2 with Sean. We conclude this conversation with Sean's thoughts on Bitcoin as a compliment to the current financial system. Sean is the CEO of HyperBlock, which has a large mining center in Missoula, Montana. Note: Apologies for not having the best sound quality on Sean's side. We did our best to clean it up. But this episode will make you think differently about bitcoin and what it means to be a contrarian thinker.

Running a publicly traded mining company, Sean has to defend bitcoin to the public. He defines what bitcoin is, plus his personal Big Short story from the 2008 housing bubble. Sean Walsh is a natural entrepreneur and contrarian. I've done well over a hundred interviews with top people in the bitcoin world, and Sean has ideas and opinions that I've never heard before! Sean is the CEO of HyperBlock, which has a large mining center in Missoula, Montana. This episode will make you think differently about bitcoin and what it means to be a contrarian thinker. I apologize for not having the best sound quality on Sean's side. We did our best to clean it up. 

The appointment of Stefan Rust as CEO of Bitcoin.com surprised many in the industry. How does his leadership style and vision compare to Roger's? Not well-known by the broader cryptocurrency community, it was great having a relaxed conversation with the new head honcho of the company. Also joining us is Dan Schatt of MyCred.io. Cred is a leading company in the decentralized lending and finance sector. Stefan and Dan answered a few questions about the industry, bitcoin cash, and decentralized finance. How is Bitcoin Cash perceived in the world of institutional investing? Why is decentralized lending so popular? What about security? Plus, a few bold predictions for the future.

Emin Gun Sirer is arguably the most prominent professor in the Bitcoin ecosphere. Teaching computer science at Cornell since 2001, Emin was interested in cryptocurrency before bitcoin.  In 2003, with Karma, he invented proof of work. Now, he believes that their is a better solution to consensus: Avalanche. Emin shares his thoughts on the current bitcoin discourse, how CEOs should behave, and, of course, the future of cryptocurrency.

One of the oldest companies in the space, Blockchain.com has staying power. With over 40 million downloads, Blockchain.com has a large share of bitcoin transactions and the #1 downloaded wallet. In 2011 the term "blockchain" was not a word. It was not a thing. In fact their website, blockchain.info at the time, was the first page on the internet to ever use the word. Back in the day (2011), it made the decision to take the non-custodial approach. This was in contrast to Coinbase's custodial approach. Years later, Peter is still grinding it out at the Blockchain.com headquarters in London. Peter takes an unconventional approach to life and business. As Peter states, "even Roger thinks I'm weird." Entering uncharted territory for the company, they finally decided to launch an exchange of their own, PIT, which is billed to be the fastest crypto exchange on the market!

Sam Feldman is an internet entrepreneur. Like many, he is fascinated by crypto. His recent, comprehensive Cryptoguide on Binance caught the attention of Changpeng Zhao himself. We analyze last week's ep with Binance's CSO, talk about the opportunities and threats to Binance dominance, and get Sam's take on cryptocurrency in general. Plus a recent incident in Sweden that shows some of the new problems caused using cryptocurrency as money.    

"The real story, we believe, is that Binance is probably the fastest profitable startup to achieve unicorn status (private company with $1bn+ valuation) in history. Binance is valued at not $1bn+ but closer to $2bn+. And they did it in less than 6 months. Yes, you read it right, 6 months." What got you here, won't get you there. Binance continues to evolve. They recently added Gin Chao. Among other things he will: "oversee its global strategy, ranging from the company’s venture capital (VC) arm, Binance Labs, to its strategic fiat-to-crypto gateways, including the creation of new partnerships and banking relationships for Binance Singapore, Binance Uganda and in emerging regions such as Latin America. Chao will also create new business opportunities for Binance’s existing and forthcoming partners, as well as acquire capabilities that bridge departments company-wide." A long career in investment banking, Gin was most recently the Vice President of Strategy and Corporate Development at the National Basketball Association (NBA) in China. Gin is another all-star on Binance's global team.

Paul Le Roux, subject of the book and future TV series The Mastermind, is a real life bond villain. We talk to the author about the prospect of Le Roux as Satoshi and his thoughts on Bitcoin in general. You can listen to this podcast without having read the book, but make sure to buy and read it after. The recent Craig Wright lawsuit brought up the possibility of Le Roux being Satoshi. At the very least, there are a lot of coincidences. We didn't come to a definitive answer but, to me, it's the most compelling case I've ever heard.

One thing that stands out in the crazy world of bitcoin is how little conversation is dedicated to shopping; spending cryptocurrency.  Instead, we see dApps, investing, and user cases taking away limelight from "crypto as cash". Matt and his team have built a travel website that not only accepts 10 cryptocurrencies, but rewards their users with their own cryptocurrency, the AVA token.  Imagine if you had liquidity for your frequent flyer miles. That's exactly what Travala is doing. A young, bright entrepreneur, Matt shares the philosophy that guides the company.

Something obvious but not always stated: If we want worldwide adoption Today's youth must be involved with cryptocurrency. There is a misconception that you have to invest, or that you have to code in order to be involved with Bitcoin. While Christian does code, he also runs a YouTube channel and hosts meetups in Southern California.

Another Bitcoin.com team member joins the show. We double down on mining. Following up our interview with Nishant of Bitmain, we talk to Shaun Chong, one of the brightest minds at Bitcoin.com. He moved to Tokyo looking for an adventure and he found one. Running the bitcoin.com mining pool is a fast-paced, exciting life. Shaun is very intelligent but also soft-spoken, so it's a treat to hear his perspective on the world of bitcoin.

Nishant Sharma leads Bitmain's international PR and community relations strategy. Preparing for the interview, I had a lot of questions about the company: What happened with the IPO? Why is there so much FUD and mystery? What is Wu Jihan these days? We covered that but we also had a deep discussion about China. How does money work there? Does anti-Chinese propaganda affect our understanding of bitcoin usage and sentiment in China? And of course, we had to talk about Bitcoin Cash. Why did some call it the "Chinese Bitcoin"? Nishant eloquently weaves in stories to make it entertaining. This episode is mandatory listening for anyone who wants a deeper understanding of Bitcoin in China.  

Kai is humble and he wouldn't say it, but I will: Kai is one of the top writers in the cryptocurrency world.  A Scottish native, he's never been a fan of gov't control. When he learned about bitcoin years ago, he was hooked. A clever, insightful journalist Kai knows a lot about Darknet markets and has a firm grasp on the bitcoin news circuit.

We tell all types of stories on Humans of Bitcoin. This one is about the transformation of a young man.  Playing college basketball, Adam was on track for a traditional business career. But things changed. A spiritual awakening influenced by time in Belize has sent him down the unconventional life which includes Liberland and, of course, Bitcoin.

One of the most important parts of bitcoin is its community. Moe Levin is one of the key connectors in the space that helped build it. From the first Bitcoin event in Amsterdam to the famous North American Bitcoin Conference in Miami, Moe makes things happen. We talk about the evolution of conferences and the bitcoin community at large.    

Part 2 of our interview with Joey King, developer at Bitcoin.com. As you saw in Part 1, Joey is a intelligent, thoughtful contrarian whose understanding of political science allows for insightful analysis of bitcoin. I pick Joey's brain on a number of topics: The principles of Political Science The politics of the bitcoin world Bitcoin vs Bitcoin Cash Ripple (XRP) Facebook / JP Morgan Coin Don't forget to follow Joey on Twitter.

Joey King, developer at Bitcoin.com, is not very well know outside of the Bitcoin Cash community, but he should be. A true intellectual, Joey is one of the best at contextualizing bitcoin into the "real world". In the first part of the interview, we talk about Joey's early years, how he learned about geopolitics, and how he ended up in Bitcoin.

If you are new to Bitcoin, you may not have heard of him. Not on Twitter often. Definitely not on Reddit. If you're on his route from Miami to Los Angeles, you may physically see him. He's not hard to miss. The large, bearded hippie is running across the United States to raise awareness for Blockchain technology and the homeless epidemic. A skilled entrepreneur, connector, philanthropist, and (of course) long distance runner, Jason is an undeniable talent adding value to the Bitcoin ecosystem since 2010. We also talk about his contributions in the media: Bitcoin rap and collaborating with Kevin Connolly (former star of Entourage) about a pilot for an HBO series about cryptocurrency. Note: if you came here for the Reddit R/Bitcoin story. It starts around 15 minutes in.

The second part of our interview with Jeffrey Tucker, Bitcoin's chief economist.  What would the founding fathers of Austrian Economics think about Bitcoin? UBI, Proof of Stake, Store of Value, Medium of Exchange and much more! The future of bitcoin from the lens of an Austrian economist

A branch of economics that is far from main stream, Bitcoin has given Austrian economics a boost in interest. But most of us have not studied the founding fathers of the discipline like Mises, Rothbard, and Haslitt. In part 1, Jeffrey Tucker, Bitcoin's chief economist, explains central themes of Austrian econ: The origins of Austrian Economics History of money: tobacco, gold standard etc. Do we need central banks? Price discovery What bitcoiners commonly get wrong about economics Why Austrian economics is still around today after so many years of a fractional reserve monetary system

In a continent with the highest mobile banking usage in the world, why is Africa lagging behind in cryptocurrency adoption? It should be embraced by countries economically-plagued by unstable currencies, governments and poor banking systems. But there are some roadblocks that must be removed. Enter Elisha Owusu Akyaw. Only 17 years old, he has plans to help open up Ghana and West Africa to cryptocurrency usage. It all starts with education.

Kevin Pham is one of the post polarizing figures on "Crypto Twitter", recently interacting with Jack Dorsey himself. He also has attacked Vitalik Buterin for being in cahoots with the Russian government. Kevin used to work in commercial banking, but realized it wasn't for him. He started the Hold Wells Fargo Accountable movement encouraging customers to close their accounts in a facebook post that went viral and gained national attention. This interview delves into Kevin's life; how he sees the world, and where bitcoin fits in.

A successful entrepreneur and activist, Vit Jedlicka has founded something that virtually noone else can claim: a country. As a fall out of the Yugoslavian war in the 1990's, there was a piece of land on the Danube river that remained unclaimed by both Serbia and Croatia. So Vit went there and planted a flag. Now, Liberland is growing as a micronation. It has a lot of obstacles, but things are happening. They even have their own cryptocurrency, the merit. How does the country work? What is the "roadmap" for Liberland?  

Every cloud has a silver lining. While her son Ross is STILL in jail for Bitcoin, Lyn has grown as a leader in the liberty and bitcoin movement. This episode is about her personal transformation. I had the pleasure to sit down with Lyn at Anarchapulco. It's been years since Ross is in jail, and Lyn continues to fight for his release. The prison population has gone up 800% since the 1980's. The war on drugs has many detrimental effects to society in the United States and the rest of the Americas.  

Eric July is a rapper, front man, comic book nerd, and political activist from Dallas, Texas. We had a chance to sit down at Anarchapulco to tell his story and world views. Why are many African Americans resistant to libertarian ideas like Bitcoin? Eric breaks it down.

This week on Human’s of Bitcoin, we sat down with the one and only Patrick Byrne, cryptocurrency enthusiast and CEO of Overstock.com. Patrick is an incredible human being. In addition to running a public company, he also has a PhD in philosophy, speaks multiple languages, has a black belt in Tae Kwon Do, and has a near photographic memory. A true renaissance man, we review his past, bitcoin and the current regulatory environment, as well as the projects his team at Medici ventures are working on. Here are some highlights of the discussion:   The “Dutch Uncle”   Patrick’s love for business can be traced back to two hour meetings he had with a special mentor when he was just 13.   That mentor was none other than famous investor Warren Buffett, who was a close family friend and someone who Patrick always thought was just some rich farmer from Omaha. He called him his “Dutch Uncle” because he wasn’t exactly family, but still had a major influence on his life. One of the lessons Buffett taught him was that you need the temperament to be patient enough to wait for the perfect opportunity. You may only need to make 10-20 big decisions in life, and when the timing is right you need to have the courage to swing for the fences. Buffett wanted Patrick to spend a year on Wall St., so he set him up with a friend of his at First Manhattan to learn how the game was played. This experience was Patrick’s first look at the inner workings of the financial system.   First Bitcoin Moment: After becoming CEO of Overstock.com, Patrick realized there was a crack in our financial infrastructure, and that a group of smart people had figured out a way to scheme the system for their own profits at the expense of the average citizen. He waged his own personal Occupy Wall St. movement, and was ostracized for speaking out against the nation’s power brokers. It was only after the 2008 crash that he felt vindicated for his remarks. Following the crash, Patrick randomly came across a Wired.com article about Bitcoin and realized someone had used cryptography to develop a new form of money that solved the “Byzantine General’s Problem” he had learned about in college. While others saw it as a means for speculation, he knew this new form of money could fix the issues he had witnessed first-hand during his time on Wall St. both as an analyst and as a CEO.   Regulation:   Wall St. was aware of the potential of Bitcoin as well, and the first few years of its existence were marred by smear campaigns which stigmatized cryptocurrencies as a tool for drug dealers and terrorists. However, Patrick believes that regulators are now seeing the bigger picture, and realizing the benefits of a blockchain based economy. He was able to meet with organizations like FINRA to show them how this technology could make their lives easier.   These meetings have shown him the government wants to adapt so they can be involved in the creation of regulation that allows blockchain innovation to flourish. He does not think they will try to stop the movement, and even if they wanted to, it’s already too late.   “Bigger than the Gutenberg Press” ⅔ of the world population doesn’t have access to records that allow them to prove ownership of their land. Patrick’s current project, Medici Ventures, is going into developing countries and helping local officials put land titles on the blockchain. In Zambia for example, they titled 50K homes in a pilot program and now they’re working with the government to put every home in the country on the blockchain as well. He thinks this project can change the lives of billions of people and will be more effective than simply handing out cash to those in need. Officials in Africa have taken notice, and countries like Bermuda are looking to implement his solution as well. 1000 years from now, he predicts the impact of the blockchain movement will be bigger than the Gutenberg Press and Internet because corrupt third parties will be replaced by governance systems based upon mathematics. Conclusion We are very grateful that Patrick took time out of his busy schedule to fill us in on all of these exciting things that he’s been working on. If you have any questions or comments about the topics we covered, don’t hesitate to reach out to us at Bitcoin.com/podcast.

We’ve had an incredible list of guests on Humans of Bitcoin who have provided invaluable insight and advice for our listeners over the past year. So this week, Matt went back and chose five of his favorites that he thought would resonate with everyone. The people that Matt chose are well accomplished. They can serve as inspiration for anyone striving for personal excellence and looking to make an impact on the world. Stephen Pair of Bitpay Rob Viglione of Horizen XDite of OTCBTC Erik Voorhees of Shapeshift Paul Puey of Edge Wallet

On today’s show, Matt sat down with Linzerd to talk about the current situation in Venezuela. Linzerd provides a unique perspective because he’s a Venezuelan resident who is on the ground experiencing what’s happening on a day to day basis. His background is in computer science, but he didn’t actually discover crypto until 2018. He was definitely not an early adopter, and his story is a reminder that it’s never too late to get involved in the space and make an impact.     The Current Situation Things are a little chaotic in Venezuela right now. There are two presidents, Nicholas Maduro and Juan Guaido both fighting for power. Not only are the citizens divided, but the rest of the globe is divided on who to support as well. Maduro still has control of the military which has given him an edge over Guiado thus far. From an economic perspective, necessities like food and water are available but very expensive. The main reason Guiado is calling for foreign aid is because things like medicine are still inaccessible. Tensions are high as everyone is still taking sides. Linzerd provides his thoughts on Maduro stepping down and the likelihood of foreign intervention. He also comments on whether or not he believes Maduro will use violence to take out his opposition for good. If you’d like to stay updated as the story unfolds, be sure to follow Linzerd’s blog posts on CoinSpice.com.   Remittance Payments Remittance payments have been flowing into Venezuela from all over Latin America and even from the US.  But popular services like Paypal take exorbitant fees, sometimes upward of 90%. This is a perfect opportunity for crypto to disrupt the status quo. Websites like “Local Bitcoins” have stepped in to provide an alternative solution, and they’ve done so in a record breaking fashion. Over 6 million dollars worth of bitcoin were exchanged in one week alone.  However, people still aren’t well versed on the technology. Matt & Linzerd discuss how to make it easier for people to understand and adopt crypto as both a remittance system and a medium of exchange. As the popularity of crypto rises, you can be sure that a Maduro backed government will have something to say about it. Linzerd explains how the government could intervene and make the internet a state owned entity just like oil. Venezuela is clearly in a state of turmoil. It’s fascinating to hear  first-hand accounts of the situation. It’s also a way to see clear cut examples of how crypto can help those affected by these totalitarian regimes. We appreciate Linzerd coming on the show and look forward to helping the Venezuelan people as much as we can over the coming months and years.

Daniel Kelman is Bitcoin.com’s resident legal advisor, founder of an exchange, and one of the most respected lawyers in the crypto space. After a few years in New York, he sought an adventure to break free from the monotony of corporate life. He landed in Taiwan, but the adventure really began in 2012 when he stumbled upon a bitcoin exchange called Mt. Gox. Today, he has many exciting projects including founding the OceanEx exchange, advising the free society project, leaders of foreign governments and more.

It all happened in Europe. A Polish guy moves to Germany, later wins a Hackathon in Amsterdam. Today, Adrian Barwicki is currently in Istanbul building honest.cash. Honest.Cash is a blogging platform similar to Medium with two main differences: 1. Users can earn money by creating and curating content. 2. It also offers censorship-resistance. Even if a piece of content is removed (they follow German law), it will always exist on the Bitcoin Cash blockchain. Censorship-resistance is and will continue to be a fight going forward. Adrian has his gloves on.

Peter's life was in a downward spiral due to a series of unfortunate events. Learning of his wife having an affair, witnessing the death of his mother, drugs and a crashing business, things got very rough over a short period of time. Today, he is on the up and makes a living with the What Bitcoin Did podcast. You don't have to be tech-savvy in order to work in the new revolution of cryptocurrencies. Peter is a living and breathing example of this.     

Enter Hamza's world. From dreaming, sleep paralysis, to empathizing with homeless people and helping onboard people to crypto with clothing donations. Now in Canada, and expanding to USA this year, Coins 4 Clothes provides Bitcoin Cash as an added incentive to donate gently worn clothes to charity. You may (or may not) be surprised that it all connects.

Spotlight on another Bitcoin.com team member. In addition to being an ace developer, he's got the wilderness skills that most of us only see on the Discovery channel. Chris Troutner adds tremendous value to Bitcoin.com and the Bitcoin Cash ecosystem. We talk about why bitcoin is important to him. Related to economic freedom is his personal freedom in the natural world. Living on a sailboat, a paragraph from his blog says a lot: I’m getting ready to install 1000 watts of solar panels in order to power a chest freezer. I’m building a micro-root cellar to protect homemade wine and canned goods from both the summer heat and the winter freeze. And I’m building out a grid of self-watering garden beds. This summer I’ll be experimenting with cob and building a 1/6th scale model of a wood-fired, five-person hot tub. I’m looking forward to sharing all of it here on the blog. A fascinating conversation with a true renaissance man.

I stumbled upon a 2015 Motherboard article about Jamie and his Bitcoin family by accident doing research for another interview. While there is no official count, it is very possible that news.bitcoin.com lead writer has published more articles on bitcoin than anyone in the world. Reporting on the news, reading, talking to sources gives Jamie a unique perspective on the history and future of cryptocurrency. Listen to hear the story of of a graphic designer from cold New England who moved his family to an island in South Florida where he actively teaches his kids about Bitcoin. Counter economics, day-to-day island life and more.

He was mining before Jihan Wu. Making a million dollars a day in 2013, Marshall somehow manages to maintain a low profile. For those with money and contacts that want to set up a mining operation, this is the guy you call.

Paul Puey, founder of Edge, thinks differently than most engineers. Having spent time in observing consumers running businesses like nightclubs and climbing gyms, he unconsciously thinks about the end user. Cryptocurrency companies need to be connected to their users. Paul is one of these rare people that always has an opinion that you didn't see beforehand. An enlightening conversation on the hidden risks of bitcoin storage and how to think about future cryptocurrency adoption. Timestamps: 01:37 - Paul Puey, short bio and how he got in the cryptocurrency world. 04:03 -Been the technical guy in a no-technical business. 07:45 - Get crypto use and how to solve one of the biggest security issues in cryptocurrency. 11:04 - Developing products “Out of sight, out of mind." 13:12 - Is Edge wallet safe to hold large amounts of crypto? 17:49 - How should crypto be used? 19:35 - Store of value as a concept and the stability question. 26:35 - One of the biggest shifts in financial history. 30:50 - “Forking is freedom.” 36:46 - “You are the Edge of the network.”

CEO of the world's largest bitcoin payment processor, Stephen Pair has been interested in digital currencies since the 1990's. Insights on the history AND future of money. Timestamps: 01:58 - The early days of Internet and what was DigiCash? 06:01 - Similarities between crypto and The Internet, being one of the ‘Web Surfers’ and the Magical Internet. 10:05 - Differences between the stone age of internet and the stone age of crypto. 12:15 - Stephen on discovering Bitcoin. 14:00 - The good old days of Bitcoin mining 16:35 - Big changes takes time-Stephen is extremely patient. 17:30 - The idea of BitPay and where it came from. 19:35 - Relationships with Visa. 20:55 - The contribution of Roger Ver, Barry Silbert and Erik Voorhees to BitPay. 23:45 - Asia is taking the lead in the adoption of Bitcoin-why? 25:00 - Convincing Merchants to accept BTC and BCH. 28:45 - Using cryptocurrencies is inevitable going forward 31:25 - Finding solutions and setting goals for the future. 32:30 - Advice for those getting involved in the crypto world. 34:50 - BitPay and recurrent payments. 36:55 - Attitudes towards the Mining community 38:13 - Stephen’s stance on ‘Proof of Stake.’ 40:00 - Projects to keep an eye on..

We, humans, are FULL of excuses. We are going to start that new project .. tomorrow.  Didi Taihuttu had a wife, two kids, and three businesses. It would have been easy to justify not making a move Too many responsibilities.. But he pulled the trigger anyway. Didi sold his house and all of his stuff. Now he travels the world with his family. And all their savings and transactions are in bitcoin. A reminder about the importance of taking action no matter what others may think.  Timestamps: 1:36 - Didi's early years 2:32 - His entrepreneurial ventures 3:35 - On his radical life change. Getting rid of everything 4:25 - What is minimalism, really? 5:33 - Pulling the trigger on a new life 7:21 - On selling a house in Holland for bitcoins 9:48 - How their family survives on the road 12:30 - On educating his kids for the future And, more!  

A fun, intellectual conversation. We talk about Rob being a mercenary in Afghanistan to math, history, human behavior, floating countries, and the need for privacy coins. This is one of the best interviews we have done. Rob Viglione is someone you can chat with for hours. I got smarter by doing this interview. And you will too! Timestamps: 3:42 - His work in Afghanistan 5:45 - Rob's early years 6:32 - Lessons from history 7:24 - Matt pretends he is a knowledgeable historian :) 11:00 - On economic theory 14:33 - Rob's discovery of bitcoin 16:55 - Teaching bitcoin to Afghans 22:31 - Matt shares a conspiracy theory question And much, much more!

Rory has become the defacto "Bitcoin Guy" in the MMA circuit. The current Bellator Welterweight World Champion, we talk about his life as a pro fighter and thoughts on cryptocurrency.

Bitcoin.com's global ambassador Sterlin is the first two time guest on the show. The charming Texan talks about his fascinating worldwide bitcoin travels, psychadelics, and the battle with Facebook censoring his fan page. He lives a life many can only dream about. Sterlin travels to conferences speaking about bitcoin and anarchy. From debates in D.C. to exciting adventures in Eastern Europe, what a fascinating and insightful person. When I have the chance to hang out with Sterlin, it is always a blast. His emotional intelligence is at a genius level (really). Have a listen and get inside his mind!