I talk with Roberto Osegueda, a Salvadorian living here in New Zealand. We talk about Roberto's experience growing up in El Salvador among the backdrop of the civil war and gang violence, and how the country has managed to massively change its image over the last few years for the better. El Salvador adopted Bitcoin as legal tender in September 2021 and Roberto shares a very interesting take on the successes and the challenges of Bitcoin as a currency, and how it can perhaps serve as a positive model for other countries in Latin America and the world.
Links:
Roberto on Twitter - https://twitter.com/arekkusudes
BitKiwi Meetups - https://twitter.com/Bitkiwi1
Today I talk with Simon and Jason, 2 British Bitcoiners who are involved in organising meetups and events throughout the UK, as well as promoting merchant adoption of Bitcoin. Simon also known as @hodlsolo, is part of the LaserEyesCards project, is the co-founder of Bridge2Bitcoin, and organises the Northhamptonshire Bitcoin meetup. Jason is the organiser of the Suffolk Bitcoin meetup.
I talk with Rigel Walshe, who gave a speech at the Baltic Honeybadger conference this year titled “Bitcoin as a Religious Phenomenon”. We explore this topic and how in many ways Bitcoin provides meaning and purpose in a chaotic world. Whether it is the rapid growth in local bitcoin meetups post-covid, the spread of ideas such as self-sovereignty and rules for moral action, or the state of Bitcoin Culture on Twitter, the development of the social layer of Bitcoin is undeniable in recent years.
Kishin Kato is a Japanese Bitcoiner working on various Lightning and Bitcoin education-focussed projects, and heavily involved with the Bitcoin community in Japan. We discuss some of the broad connections between Japan and New Zealand, including the state of agriculture, free trade, financial gatekeepers, as well as the emergence of different Bitcoin narratives.
James Scaur has a great story, first discovering Bitcoin in high school, teaching himself programming and starting a business, before going on to work at Cryptopia and Easy Crypto while travelling through Europe and Brazil. He is now launching some exciting projects including bringing Azte.co Bitcoin vouchers to New Zealand, and making Bitcoin more accessible in Te reo Māori.
I talk with Rob Clarkson, a Bitcoin Educator and Merchant Adoption Facilitator based in Queenstown, New Zealand. We talk about Rob's work running workshops, helping people get their first sats and even buying their first coffee with Bitcoin. We also discuss merchant adoption and what the opportunities are for this in New Zealand.