From Brazil to the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco with Ana de Sousa

From 2008 to 2015, millions of Venezuelans risked their lives in the fight for democracy against Hugo Chávez. Enduring financial apartheid and hyperinflation under the oppressive regimes of Chavez and Maduro, many Venezuelans found stablecoins to be a solution to their economic challenges. 

Leopoldo López, led the fight against Venezuela's authoritarian leaders.. He became a symbol of opposition to the Hugo Chávez and Nicolás Maduro regimes, advocating for political change and transparency, which led to his imprisonment on charges of inciting violence during anti-government protests in 2014. Despite being locked away in solitary confinement, Leopoldo’s passion for his country never wavered and he continues to be a voice for freedom. 

Learn more about Leopoldo Lopez at the links below.

Website: https://leopoldolopez.com/

Twitter: @leopoldolopez

World Liberty Congress

This podcast episode was produced by Quill

As the realm of cryptocurrency evolves, an increasing number of people are embracing Bitcoin as the future of financial freedom. In season 2 host Mauricio Di Bartolomeo, co-founder and CSO of Ledn, dives even deeper into the dynamic world of Bitcoin with a diverse lineup of guests, including technologists and freedom fighters. Because of Bitcoin showcases stories of ambition, resilience, and innovation, offering a firsthand look at how Bitcoin and the digital asset industry can be a driving force for positive change.

Tune in this Spring to catch the latest episodes on your preferred podcast platform. Subscribe now to "Because of Bitcoin" and be ready for a season filled with even more insightful conversations.

This podcast episode is proudly produced by Quill.

Bitcoin is permissionless, decentralized, and transparent. Fiat currency is centrally planned, permissioned, and decisions are made behind closed doors. Many believe in order for Bitcoin to fully reach its potential, it should never be regulated, controlled or monitored by governments. Others believe that in order for bitcoin to reach the level of global adoption it needs, it must be integrated into the existing financial system. Ana de Sousa has seen both sides of the coin. She lived through inflation in Brazil, found bitcoin, and went on to work at the Federal Reserve - the world’s biggest central bank. Ana joins Mauricio to share how she made her way from Brazil to being chosen as the cryptocurrency expert at the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco.

Ana de Sousa

Twitter: https://twitter.com/aptsousa

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anadesousa

For more people to find bitcoin and continue to use it, we need to better understand how it is being used today and what purpose it is serving. Assumptions and anecdotes have been used in the past but as the industry grows, more qualitative and quantitative research is needed. The Open Money Initiative is an example of the type of research that produced very insightful findings on how real people were using Bitcoin in Venezuela and other South American countries. The project was co-founded by Alejandro Machado, a Venezuelan that is one of the 6.1 million migrants that have left since authoritarianism took over the country. Alejandro joins Maruicio to share why he decided to leave Venezuela, how he found bitcoin, and what he discovered through his research project, the Open Money Initiative.

Alejandro Machado

Twitter: https://twitter.com/alegw

The Open Money Initiative

https://www.openmoneyinitiative.org/

Bitrefill

https://www.bitrefill.com

This podcast episode was produced by Quill.

Everyone’s Bitcoin journey begins in a unique way. Some people are looking for protection against hyperinflation. Others might need Bitcoin to make a payment across borders while many are simply looking to diversify their investments. For Peter McCormack, the host and creator of What Bitcoin Did, there was a very practical reason to first use Bitcoin. He needed to help his mother. But that isn’t where his Bitcoin journey stopped. Like many of the guest’s of this show, he went down the Bitcoin rabbit hole, started his now famous podcast and even became an owner of a sports franchise. Peter joins Mauricio to talk about how he first used Bitcoin to buy the help his mother needed, how he started his podcast and why he believes it has become such a success. 

Peter McCormack

Twitter: https://twitter.com/PeterMcCormack

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/petermccormack1/

What Bitcoin Did

Website

https://www.whatbitcoindid.com/

Social

Twitter: https://twitter.com/whatbitcoindid

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/whatbitcoindid/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/WhatBitcoinDidPodcast

Listen to Maurcio Di Bartoloemo as a guest on What Bitcoin Did episode #71: https://www.whatbitcoindid.com/podcast/update-on-the-venezuelan-political-crisis

This podcast episode was produced by Quill.

Bitcoin was born out of a system that had crashed in 2008 and left many people wondering how they were going to survive. As they were clamoring for alternatives to the system that had failed them, early adopters like Dan Held started joining together to build communities in places like Silicon Valley. Over ten years later, Dan needs no introduction within the Bitcoin world. He’s built Bitcoin companies. He’s lived through exchanges collapsing, price crashes, acquisitions, and through it all he’s still a believer. Dan joins Mauricio to share how he found himself on a new life path after discovering bitcoin, how he built his businesses and transitioned to a content creator that has nearly a million followers across social media. 

Learn more about Dan Held at the links below:

Websites

Danheld.com https://www.danheld.com/

The Held Report https://www.theheldreport.com/

Social

Twitter: https://twitter.com/danheld

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/danhedl/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@DanHeldBitcoin/featured

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dheld/

Blog Post - Hodlers are the Revolutionaries

https://tokeneconomy.co/hodlers-are-the-revolutionaries-66c8362ef9eb

This podcast episode was produced by Quill .

Venezuela has suffered some of the highest inflation rates in the world under the presidential reigns of Hugo Chavez and Nicolás Maduro. The effects have been catastrophic. After Maduro’s controversial election in 2013, inflation made it nearly impossible for Daniel Di Bartolomeo to run the business he owned with his wife. So when he was introduced to Bitcoin he discovered an alternative path to financial stability, something that was extremely rare in a Venezuelan economy that was in shambles. But after a few successful years, the authorities stumbled on Daniel’s Bitcoin mining operation and the consequences would be life changing. In this special episode Daniel joins his brother Mauricio to reflect on the hardships of living in Venezuela under Chavez and Maduro, and how Bitcoin changed the Di Bartolomeo brothers’ lives in unimaginable ways - culminating in a daring escape from Venezuela that has the makings of a movie script.

This podcast episode was produced by Quill.

Financial institutions are dedicating time and research to Bitcoin analysis and this means they are taking the currency more seriously than ever. Why the price fluctuates isn’t an easy question to answer but since 2017, David Puell has been trying to answer it. He is using Bitcoin blockchain data to analyze price fluctuations and market sentiment. He became a pioneer in the emergent field of on-chain analysis and has created a dozen on-chain metrics now used industry-wide. David joins Mauricio to share how he became an on-chain analyst,  some of the current market trends that have his attention and  Bitcoins part in a monetary evolution that will be crucial to emerging markets.

To learn more about on-chain analysis visit ​​https://ark-invest.com/white-papers/on-chain-data/

NOTE: This episode was recorded before the recent market events around FTX.

Social

Twitter - https://twitter.com/dpuellARK

Websites

ARK Invest - https://ark-invest.com/

This podcast episode was produced by Quill.

Tech savvy from a young age, the next Bitcoin generation has only known a  connected world with no physical boundaries. Coming out of Nigeria, Abubakar Nur Khalil, is a rising star. He’s a leading African Bitcoin core contributor, the founder of Qala, and Recursive Capital. In addition he sits on the board of BTrust, an initiative founded by Jack Dorsey and Jay-Z to help promote Bitcoin in the developing world. Abubakar joins Mauricio to share his inspiring story from young HTML coder to BTrust board member. And he also shares his take on why Bitcoin adoption is skyrocketing in Nigeria and why he believes Bitcoin is a big part of a better future for his country, the continent and the globe.

NOTE: This episode was recorded before the recent market events around FTX.

Learn more about Abubakar Nur Khalil at the links below:

Social

Twitter - https://twitter.com/ihate1999

Websites

Qala - https://qala.dev/

Recursive Capital - https://rcrsv.xyz/home

BTrust - https://github.com/btrustteam

This podcast episode was produced by Quill

After years of searching for something that would give her worklife meaning, Anita Posch discovered that Bitcoin could help people regain control of their money and regain their financial independence. She pivoted her career, wrote a book called Learn Bitcoin, hosts a popular podcast and founded Bitcoin for Fairness, an organization that helps educate people in developing countries about Bitcoin - with a big focus in Africa. Anita joins Mauricio from Zimbabwe to share her story and how she’s trying to improve lives at the grassroots level.

Learn more about Anita Posch at the links below.

Websites 

Anitaposch.com

Bitcoin For Fairness

Podcast

The Anita Posch Show

Book

Learn Bitcoin

Other Resources

Bitcoin Ekasi

This podcast episode was produced by Quill