Humans Of Bitcoin

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 nee

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

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.