BTC231: Bitcoin Nation State Adoption Paradox - A Trojan Horse w/ Alex Gladstein (Bitcoin Podcast)

We Study Billionaires - The Investor’s Podcast Network

Stig Brodersen

Education, Investing, Business

4.6 • 3.6K Ratings

🗓️ 23 April 2025

⏱️ 64 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Alex Gladstein unpacks the hidden power dynamics of financial privilege, the shifting terrain of surveillance, and why Bitcoin might be the most unexpected tool in the fight for human rights IN THIS EPISODE YOU’LL LEARN: 00:00 - Intro 08:23 - Why self-custody is essential to the philosophical core of financial freedom 13:12 - How grassroots Bitcoin movements are reshaping power dynamics 14:02 - The complex role of social media in Bitcoin advocacy 14:27 - What recent developments are challenging or reinforcing core beliefs 16:07 - How Bitcoin acts as a stealth disruptor of corrupt systems 17:29 - Real-world humanitarian uses of Bitcoin, including crisis response 18:49 - The implications of rising financial surveillance—even in democracies 19:43 - Why financial privilege blinds many in the West to global monetary injustice 21:07 - Where the next frontier of Bitcoin and human rights may emerge 49:03 - How writing a full-length book reframed the guest’s understanding of scale and resistance Disclaimer: Slight discrepancies in the timestamps may occur due to podcast platform differences. BOOKS AND RESOURCES Alex’s X Account. Human Rights Foundation. Related Video: Princess of the Yen. Bitcoin Is A Trojan Horse For Freedom by Alex Gladstein. Alex’s books: Check Your Financial Privilege and Hidden Repression: How the IMF and World Bank Sell Exploitation as Development. Check out all the books mentioned and discussed in our podcast episodes here. Enjoy ad-free episodes when you subscribe to our Premium Feed. NEW TO THE SHOW? Join the exclusive TIP Mastermind Community to engage in meaningful stock investing discussions with Stig, Clay, Kyle, and the other community members. Follow our official social media accounts: X (Twitter) | LinkedIn | | Instagram | Facebook | TikTok. Check out our Bitcoin Fundamentals Starter Packs. Browse through all our episodes (complete with transcripts) here. Try our tool for picking stock winners and managing our portfolios: TIP Finance Tool. Enjoy exclusive perks from our favorite Apps and Services. Get smarter about valuing businesses in just a few minutes each week through our newsletter, The Intrinsic Value Newsletter. Learn how to better start, manage, and grow your business with the best business podcasts. SPONSORS Support our free podcast by supporting our sponsors: SimpleMining Hardblock Found AnchorWatch Fundrise DeleteMe CFI Education The Bitcoin Way Vanta Shopify Indeed Onramp Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://theinvestorspodcastnetwork.supportingcast.fm

Transcript

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0:00.0	You're listening to TIP.
0:02.2	Hey everyone, welcome to this Wednesday's release of the Bitcoin Fundamentals podcast.
0:06.4	On today's show, I bring back the one and only Alex Gladstein to talk about all the incredible things happening with Bitcoin around the world.
0:13.1	During the show, Alex talks about his new book, which is a collection of his writings called a Trojan Horse for Freedom.
0:19.1	We also talk about the incredible traction
0:21.1	that we're seeing from politicians, media, and other unexpected types. Finally, Alex talks
0:26.1	about the paradox of nation-state adoption, how some people are very confused by members of the
0:30.6	community cheering on government adoption while others are upset about it. So, without further delay,
0:36.3	sit back, relax, and enjoy this really fun
0:39.0	conversation with Alex.
0:44.3	Celebrating 10 years, you are listening to Bitcoin Fundamentals by the Investors Podcast Network.
0:51.0	Now for your host, Preston Pish.
1:06.8	Hey, everyone. Welcome to the show. I'm here with the one and only Alex Gladstein. Welcome back, sir. Thanks for having me. So, Alex, we were just in Bedford, had an incredible time.
1:13.6	I think we'll talk about like what's changing there.
1:16.0	But before we do that, I want to go straight to your speech that you gave.
1:21.0	It was titled The Human Rights Paradox of Nation State Bitcoin Adoption.
1:25.1	Tell us about this.
1:26.1	I think this is really controversial. In my opinion,
1:28.8	a lot of bad takes on this particular topic. So walk us through it. Yeah, well, ever since the
1:34.0	earliest days of the Bitcoin message boards, people have speculated on what's it going to look
1:39.1	like in the future with Bitcoin. And there were some threads here and there which had talked about a kind of
1:47.0	Virgin Horse type dynamic where people had written way back when, like essentially early 2010s
	...

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