Game Theory: Who Won't Cheat?

In this episode, I sit down with Jeff Booth inside the National Palace El Salvador to dig into a question a lot of people are asking in private. Is El Salvador still Bitcoin country, or did Bukele get captured by the IMF. Jeff shares how he ended up invited by the President, why he first thought he was being used as a marketing prop, and what actually happened during a long conversation on Bitcoin, freedom money, and what it means for a small country trying to escape a global control system.

We walk through the IMF and El Salvador story from Jeff’s perspective. He explains why a former failed state turned to Bitcoin to escape fiat money and its hidden taxes, yet still decided to take an IMF loan. Jeff shares Bukele’s “rat and cheese” analogy, and why the real goal is Salvadorans holding their own keys, running nodes, and building a circular economy in Bitcoin instead of staying stuck in the old system. He also talks about what he saw on the ground, from gang crackdowns and falling crime, to how the historic center now feels safer and more vibrant, and what that means for tourism in El Salvador.

From there, we zoom out into the deeper human side. Jeff explains how understanding Bitcoin forces an existential crisis, especially for wealthy people and NGOs who thought they were helping, while actually reinforcing a broken fiat money system. We get into game theory, why most people will cheat if they think they will not get caught, and why the principled minority who run nodes and hold their own keys matter so much. Jeff lays out a simple way to think about moving your time into the Bitcoin economy, starting with a small percentage, then growing it until your life reflects an honest market instead of a control system built on inflation and debt.

We close with why Jeff walked away from a huge Twitter audience to spend his time on Nostr, how he thinks about living in alignment in public, and what he is building with Ego Death Capital. He shares how they use Bitcoin as the hurdle rate, why he believes Bitcoin native startups will massively outperform as the old world gets repriced, and how founders in places like El Salvador can collect more Bitcoin by creating real value for real people. 

If this conversation shifts how you see El Salvador, the IMF, or fiat money, subscribe, drop a comment with your biggest takeaway, and send this to a friend who still refuses to spend sats in Bitcoin Beach.

-Bitcoin Beach Team

Connect and Learn more about Jeff Booth:
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Web: https://www.jeffbooth.ca/ 

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Browse through this quick guide to learn more about the episode:

00:00 - Why does Jeff Booth say Bukele understands the global Bitcoin game and the IMF “rat and cheese” trap?

01:52 - What first brought Jeff Booth to El Salvador and why were Bitcoiners questioning if it is still Bitcoin country?

02:55 - How did the invitation from Bukele’s office change Jeff’s thinking about El Salvador’s Bitcoin strategy?

04:02 - Why did Jeff want to look Bukele in the eye before trusting the El Salvador Bitcoin experiment?

10:08 - Does Bukele feel the Bitcoin experiment is working and how does he balance IMF money with a Bitcoin vision?

13:57 - How different does San Salvador feel today compared to the gang violence years before Bitcoin and Bukele’s crackdown?

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