012. Alex Gladstein - Bitcoin is The American Idea The Dumbest Guy in the Room

Recorded 7/6/21

Bitcoin price at the time ~$34,000



Alex Gladstein is a humanitarian working with the Human Rights Foundation and a true Bitcoiner. He has written many essays discussing the flaws of the petrodollar system in the US, how Bitcoin helps to fight monetary colonialism in Africa, and how Bitcoin can get us back to the original American idea. We cover these three works and much more in this episode.



Where to find Alex:

@Gladstein (https://twitter.com/gladstein)

Human Rights Foundation (https://hrf.org/)

Bitcoin And The American Idea (https://bitcoinmagazine.com/culture/bitcoin-and-the-american-idea)

Fighting Monetary Colonialism With Open-Source Code (https://bitcoinmagazine.com/culture/bitcoin-a-currency-of-decolonization)

The Hidden Cost Of The Petrodollar (https://bitcoinmagazine.com/culture/the-hidden-costs-of-the-petrodollar)



1:45 - Alex’s background

3:45 - Introduction to Bitcoin

6:15 - Why Bitcoin stuck out

10:50 - Bitcoin helping the unbanked

19:20 - Mining projects financing energy development

23:15 - Monetary colonialism in Africa

34:00 - Bitcoin and the American Idea

41:00 - The petrodollar system



Resources mentioned:

Bitcoin white paper (https://bitcoin.org/bitcoin.pdf)

Swan Bitcoin (swanbitcoin.com/e3)

Cash App (https://cash.app/app/KWJSDQR)

Strike (https://invite.strike.me/21XVVW)

Hope.com

Bitcoin & Black America - Isaiah Jackson (https://www.amazon.com/Bitcoin-Black-America-Isaiah-Jackson/dp/1079178090)