Bitcoin Purity with Rodolfo Novak

WBD218 - Rodolfo Novak - Large Banner.png

Where to find the show

Download Episode MP3 File
The file will open in a new window. Click down arrow to download the file.

“I think it is a very hard balance to strike between, pushing people towards the right direction, and not being too preachy or too much of a dick.”
— Rodolfo Novak

SHOW DESCRIPTION

Location: Zoom
Date: Wednesday 22nd April
Project: Coinkite
Role: CEO & Co-Founder

Bitcoin attracts a broad range of enthusiasts with different backgrounds, experience and political beliefs. The spectrum is broad, from those who treat it purely as a speculative asset, happy to buy and hold, to those who head deep down the anti-state and hard money rabbit hole.

Those who are attracted to Bitcoin's hard money properties may often align with Libertarian ideas, free markets and the separation of money and state. These Bitcoiners will often push hard important topics such as holding your own private keys, validating transactions with a node, enhancing privacy with CoinJoin and generally hating on any altcoin or token project. The most hardcore of Bitcoiners may even avoid exchanges due to KYC/AML legislation and find other ways to accumulate Bitcoin.

Almost all Bitcoiners will fit somewhere between these two extremes, and the beauty of Bitcoin is that it doesn't care about your personal beliefs. As Bitcoin continues to grow, it will attract people who may not align with some of the more anarcho-capitalist opinions but still wish to use Bitcoin.

So, is it the job of more radical Bitcoiners to push everyone towards holding their keys, running a node and improving their privacy and OPSEC? While these are good practices, what about those who do not align with libertarianism or Austrian Economics, should Bitcoin welcome all or be toxic to those who don't follow certain ideologies. 

In this interview, I talk to Rodolfo Novak, the CEO & Co-Founder of Coinkite and Bitcoin OG. We get into Bitcoin purity and discuss self custody & personal responsibility, hardware wallets and Bitcoin narratives.

TIMESTAMPS

00:05:25: Introductions
00:05:37: Healthcare around the world
00:11:18: Political spectrum
00:15:07: Coronavirus
00:20:54: Approaching the virus differently
00:24:03: Stablecoins
00:28:31: Bitcoin backstory
00:33:14: What is Bitcoin for?
00:38:36: Big blockers choosing wrong path
00:42:00: Bitcoin’s simple monetary policy
00:50:00: Mass adoption and custodial services
00:55:43: Nodes and Tor
00:59:38: Personal responsibility
01:06:54: Success breeding jealousy
01:11:11: Coldcard
01:13:22: OPENDIME
01:15:26: Building products
01:20:40: Complaints about Bitcoin’s UX
01:26:29: Why buy a Coldcard hardware wallet?
01:28:29: Final comments

 

SUPPORT THE SHOW

If you enjoy The What Bitcoin Did Podcast you can help support the show my doing the following:

If you are interested in sponsoring the show, you can read more about that here or please feel free to drop me an email to discuss options.

SPONSORS

SHOW NOTES

PodcastPeter McCormack