Interview | Description | Timestamps | Show Notes

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Location: Santiago, Chile
Date: Tuesday, 4th February
Project: Buda
Role: Co-founder

Chile was one of South America’s richest and most politically stable countries, but recent political unrest has led to daily violent protests. 

These protests are considered the worst in Chile’s history and were sparked by a rise in the Santiago Metro's subway fare. This was seen as another attack on the working class and highlighted the inequalities prevalent in the system.

Since the protests began on October 7th there have been a reported 29 deaths, 2,500 injuries and over 2,800 arrests.

In this interview, I talk to Guillermo Torrealba the Co-founder and CEO of Buda, a Bitcoin and cryptocurrency exchange that operates in Chile, Argentina, Colombia & Peru. We discuss the ongoing political crisis in Chile, Bitcoin and climate change.

00:05:05: Introductions
00:05:24: Chile’s recent history
00:12:36: Protests and corruption
00:15:00: Largescale national inequality
00:19:10: Source of national discontent
00:22:39: Pension problems
00:26:19: Government response to the protests
00:31:35: Political views of protestors
00:35:08: Libertarianism in South America
00:42:07: Shrinking governments
00:44:12: Employees owning companies
00:51:00: Background into Bitcoin
00:54:02: Buda being de-banked in 2017
00:57:57: Payments with Lightning on the exchange
01:00:28: Move back into Colombia
01:01:58: Carbon neutral initiative
01:07:31: Why this initiative could be seen as controversial
01:15:52: Initiative implementation
01:16:37: Final comments

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SPONSORS

• Connect with Guillermo:

  • On Twitter

  • On Medium

  • On Crunchbase

  • On LinkedIn

• Connect with Buda

  • The Website

  • On Twitter

• Mentioned in the interview: 

  • Augusto Pinochet

  • Chile's political crisis is another brutal legacy of long-dead dictator Pinochet

  • 2019–20 Chilean protests

  • What You Need to Know About the Unrest in Chile

  • Military dictatorship of Chile (1973–1990)

  • Chile's Pinera proposes reform of pension system that has fueled protests

  • Protests in Chile are about wealth as much as inequality

  • Chile protests: Is inequality becoming worse?

  • What Is Lightning Network And How It Works

  • Lightning Network

  • Bitcoin Energy Consumption Index

  • Microsoft will be carbon negative by 2030

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  • WBD193: Bitcoin Around the World - Colombia: Bitcoin, Regulation and Ties to Venezuela with Mauricio Tovar Gutierrez & Alejandro Beltran Torrado

  • WBD179: Bitcoin Youth Programme in El Salvador with Michael Peterson

  • WBD108: A Bitcoin Reality Check in Venezuela with Jill Carlson, Alejandro Machado & Jamaal Montasser

  • WBD071: Update on the Venezuelan Political Crisis

  • WBD019: How Venezuelans are Using Bitcoin to Counter the Effects of Hyperinflation with Alejandro Machado