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Humans of Bitcoin tells the stories of people whose lives have been impacted by cryptocurrency and blockchain technology.
Guests range from activists and refugees to artists and entrepreneurs.
At Humans of Bitcoin, we just want to know how cryptocurrency is changing people’s lives, and why.
Hosted by Matt Aaron. Part of the Bitcoin.com podcast network.
Guests range from activists and refugees to artists and entrepreneurs.
At Humans of Bitcoin, we just want to know how cryptocurrency is changing people’s lives, and why.
Hosted by Matt Aaron. Part of the Bitcoin.com podcast network.
88 Episodes
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"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.
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Love Roger Ver👑👑
amazing episode. great work.