94: Cedric Youngelman ON: Bitcoin, Freedom, and the Fight Against Financial Enslavement

What if Bitcoin didn’t come to disrupt the system… but to save it?

In this episode, I’m joined by Cedric Youngelman, the host of the Bitcoin Matrix podcast. Cedric’s been immersed in the Bitcoin space since 2017, and over the years he’s built a reputation for digging into the deeper philosophical and political implications of money, sovereignty, and how we organize society.

We get into Cedric’s personal Bitcoin journey, from Facebook burnout and “heavily armed clowns” on Twitter to realizing that Bitcoin might be one of humanity’s few true paradigm shifts. We also talk about the rise of corporate and government accumulation, the dangers of centralization, and what happens when people confuse price action with understanding. Cedric doesn’t hold back.

You’ll Learn:

• What it feels like to go from fiat confusion to Bitcoin conviction
• How MicroStrategy and other treasury firms could destabilize Bitcoin during a downturn
• Why self-custody is more than just a technical feature, it’s a societal shift
• The quiet damage of measuring everything in fiat terms
• What changes when you treat Bitcoin as money, not just a store of value
• The surprising link between centralized adoption and long-term risk
• What happens when states, ETFs, and corporations accumulate too much Bitcoin
• Why some Bitcoiners are questioning Ross Ulbricht’s reappearance
• The big risk of forgetting Bitcoin’s ethos while celebrating its price

Timestamps:

[00:00] Introduction

[06:01] Cedric’s first exposure to Bitcoin and early confusion around altcoins

[10:37] The moment he realized Bitcoin isn’t about tech, it’s about money

[14:55] Why Bitcoin changes the rules of entrepreneurship and property ownership

[19:03] The myth of store of value first, medium of exchange second

[22:45] How ETFs and custodians give the old system leverage over Bitcoin

[29:14] The risk of financialized Bitcoin companies during market crashes

[33:45] Why state and corporate adoption might backfire

[39:59] The problem with passing down Bitcoin values to the next generation

[43:00] Cedric’s take on the Lightning Network and remaining skeptical

[45:50] Why some Bitcoiners are ignoring valid critiques of the system

[47:40] Could Bitcoin have been created by the state?

[56:25] Cedric’s theory on Ross Ulbricht’s release and strange public reappearance

[01:04:55] Reframing fiat life as a prison and Bitcoin as an escape hatch

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Resources Mentioned:

Bitcoin Matrix Podcast with Cedric Youngelman | Website

Your Wealth Is Melting by Joe Burnett | Article

Lex Fridman Interview with Jack Dorsey | YouTube

Learn more about Cedric by following him on X and LinkedIn.

Find more from Scott:

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