For our final episode of season three, we were excited to have Francis Pouliot join us for a discussion. Francis is the founder and CEO of Bull Bitcoin, a popular 'non-custodial' bitcoin exchange and payment service in Canada. He has been heavily involved in the bitcoin industry since 2013, helping people understand and use bitcoin from the earliest days of Montreal's Bitcoin Embassy to Costa Rica's Bitcoin Jungle today. In that time, he has accrued a wealth of knowledge and experience, which in addition to his uniquely principled approach to things, has made him a popular and respected voice in the bitcoin space. Personally, I've always appreciated his reverence for the truth, his dedication to doing what he believes to be right, and the ideas, arguments, and products which have emerged from that approach. Including his company Bull Bitcoin, which, full disclosure, I'm a happy customer of. Enjoy! --- Follow Francis and Bull: Twitter (Francis): @francispouliot_ Twitter (Bull Bitcoin): @BullBitcoin_ Website: bullbitcoin.com Follow John & Seetee: Twitter: @johnkvallis & @Seetee_io Website: seetee.io Use Podcasting 2.0: Breez.Technology Fountain.FM NewPodcastingApps.com Value4Value.info

In this episode of Closing The Loop, we’re honored to have Ray Youssef join us for a discussion. Ray is the founder and CEO of Paxful, a popular peer-to-peer bitcoin exchange, which offers users over 350 different payment methods to choose from. Paxful has placed a particular focus on what Ray refers to as the ‘Global South,’ where billions of unbanked or underbanked people are effectively cut-off from global markets and subject to numerous forms of financial repression. In this conversation, Ray and I discuss how bitcoin and Paxful have helped to level the playing field for these people: by giving them greater access to global financial infrastructure and, in doing so, helping them to circumvent authoritarian regulations which seek to confiscate their wealth and limit their financial freedom. As you’ll hear, Ray is extremely passionate about his work and takes his mission—providing everyone with the financial tools they need to build wealth and unleash their full potential—very seriously. Enjoy! --- Follow Ray and Paxful: Twitter (Ray): @raypaxful Twitter (Paxful): @paxful Website: paxful.com Follow John & Seetee: Twitter: @johnkvallis & @Seetee_io Website: seetee.io Use Podcasting 2.0: Breez.Technology Fountain.FM NewPodcastingApps.com Value4Value.info

Our guest today is Patrick O’Sullivan, the world’s first 'Chief Bitcoin Officer', for the Australian Baseball League club, The Perth Heat. In late 2021, Patrick convinced the organization to shift to a full 'bitcoin standard', and since then, they’ve been experimenting with all the ways in which they can leverage the benefits of bitcoin, to bring a higher-quality and more rewarding experience to players and spectators alike. Recently, grounded in a firm belief in the merits and possibilities of the bitcoin-enabled 'value-for-value' philosophy, the team has launched what their calling 'sats4stats', where live or online spectators can send bitcoin payments directly to players, for whatever reason, in real-time! Patrick and the whole crew at the Perth Heat not only believe that their club will reap substantial rewards by being first in pursuing this strategy, but also that their pioneering work will inspire others to do the same, and in time, completely revolutionize the world of spectator sports. Enjoy! --- Follow Patrick and The Perth Heat: Twitter (Patrick): @CBO_21 Twitter (Perth Heat): @PerthHeat Website: perthheat.com.au Follow John & Seetee: Twitter: @johnkvallis & @Seetee_io Website: seetee.io Use Podcasting 2.0: Breez.Technology Fountain.FM NewPodcastingApps.com Value4Value.info

Today's guest is Matt Hill, co-founder and CEO of Start9 Labs, a leading pioneer in what he calls ‘Sovereign Computing.’ In today’s world, many have become accustomed to using third-party platforms to interact online, host their data, and much else, but as the saying goes, ‘the cloud is just someone else’s computer.’ As a result of this, there is no true privacy, anyone can be censored, and data honeypots exist everywhere for dishonest or malicious actors to exploit. Matt and his team are determined to reverse this concerning trend, by making it easy and affordable to run a personal private server, allowing any individual to take back control of their data, opt-out of corporate and state surveillance, and engage in their digital lives in a manner that is private, secure, and censorship-free. --- Follow Matt: Twitter: @_MattHill_ Website: start9.com Follow John & Seetee: Twitter: @johnkvallis & @Seetee_io Website: seetee.io Use Podcasting 2.0: Breez.Technology Fountain.FM NewPodcastingApps.com Value4Value.info

Today’s guest is Jeff Booth, a serial technology entrepreneur, advisor and board member to multiple businesses and organizations, and the author of the very popular book, ‘The Price of Tomorrow: Why Deflation is the Key to an Abundant Future'. Jeff is also a prolific speaker and advocate for bitcoin, educating people in all parts of the world, about the nature of the problems we all face, and how bitcoin is an essential tool for resolving them. Finally, to further enhance his impact, Jeff recently founded ego death capital, a venture fund which invests in companies in the bitcoin ecosystem, thereby accelerating the transition to what he likes to call, ‘a world of greater truth, hope and abundance.’ Enjoy! --- Follow Jeff: Twitter: @JeffBooth Website: egodeath.capital Follow John & Seetee: Twitter: @johnkvallis & @Seetee_io Website: seetee.io Use Podcasting 2.0: Breez.Technology Fountain.FM NewPodcastingApps.com Value4Value.info

Our guest today is Jason Les, CEO of Riot Blockchain. Riot is one of the largest publicly traded bitcoin miners in the world, with a current hash rate capacity of 4.8EH/s, and an expected self-mining capacity of 12.6EH/s by Q1 2023. The bitcoin mining industry is notoriously competitive, and that is especially the case right now in the fall of 2022, as a confluence of factors conspire to reveal which among the current operators are capable of weathering the storm. As such, I thought now would be a perfect time to have Jason on to discuss his story, how he thinks about building successful bitcoin mining operations, as well as the broad and massive implications of this burgeoning new industry. Enjoy! --- Follow Jason: Twitter: @JasonLes_ Website: riotblockchain.com Follow John & Seetee: Twitter: @johnkvallis & @Seetee_io Website: seetee.io Use Podcasting 2.0: Breez.Technology Fountain.FM NewPodcastingApps.com Value4Value.io

Our guest today is Prince Filip Karađorđević, Hereditary Prince of Serbia and Yugoslavia, and Chief Strategy Officer of Jan 3, a digital infrastructure company focused on expanding access to bitcoin technology, and accelerating hyperbitcoinization. We first met Prince Filip at the Miami Bitcoin Conference in 2022, and were struck by both his down-to-earth demeanor, as well as his passion and enthusiasm for bitcoin. His family history is tremendously interesting, and Filip seems determined to follow in those footsteps, by using bitcoin, in conjunction with his other initiatives, to bring more freedom and prosperity to the people of Serbia, and those living around the world. --- Follow Prince Filip: Twitter: @PrincFilip1 Website: jan3.com Follow John & Seetee: Twitter: @johnkvallis & @Seetee_io Website: seetee.io Use Podcasting 2.0: Breez.Technology Fountain.FM NewPodcastingApps.com Value4Value.io

This episode's guest is Abubakar Nur Khalil, a contributor to bitcoin core and co-founder of Qala, a non-profit focused on training the next generation of bitcoin and lightning developers in Africa. He is also the CEO of Recursive Capital, a venture capital fund focused on funding African bitcoin startups. Finally, Abubakar is a founding member of B Trust, a non-profit funded by Jack Dorsey and Jay-Z, with the stated purpose of supporting the people and initiatives working to decentralize bitcoin development further. Though still relatively young, Abubakar's accomplishments in the bitcoin space are substantial. His curiosity, dedication, and humility with which he approaches life shine through in his work and this discussion. --- Follow Abubakar: Twitter: @ihate1999 Website: rcrsv.xyz Follow John & Seetee: Twitter: @johnkvallis & @Seetee_io Website: seetee.io Use Podcasting 2.0: Breez.Technology Fountain.FM NewPodcastingApps.com Value4Value.io

Today’s guest is Brent Whitehead, co-founder of Giga Energy, a company that builds, operates, and sells equipment for off-grid bitcoin mining operations. The mobility, viability, and adaptability of bitcoin mining has in the last few years become recognized for the unique opportunities it represents, for capturing and monetizing stranded or 'waste' energy. As a result, the industry is currently experiencing a boom, as market participants respond to the incentive which now exists to turn a liability, into an asset, which has a global market and operates 24/7/365. This method of bitcoin mining is helping to increase resource efficiency, improve the economics of energy production and distribution, and helping to further decentralize and secure the bitcoin network. It’s an incredibly exciting development in the bitcoin ecosystem and bound to have many other positive downstream effects, which is why I invited Brent on to share more about his experiences and perspective. --- Follow Brent: Twitter: @B_Whitehead21 Website: gigaenergy.com Follow John & Seetee: Twitter: @johnkvallis & @Seetee_io Website: seetee.io Use Podcasting 2.0: Breez.Technology Fountain.FM NewPodcastingApps.com Value4Value.io

This episode's guest is Jean Amiouny, co-founder and CEO of Canadian bitcoin exchange, Shakepay. Launched in 2015, Shakepay has become one of the most popular ways to buy bitcoin in Canada, with $7 billion in transaction volume and over one million Canadians signed up to the platform. As you'll hear in this discussion, while their current focus is on making it as easy as possible for Canadians to accumulate bitcoin, they have much bigger aspirations of ultimately taking on the five big legacy banks in Canada, re-creating the financial system on top of bitcoin, and ushering in what they call the "bitcoin golden age." --- Follow Jean: Twitter: @aiouy Website: shakepay.com Follow John & Seetee: Twitter: @johnkvallis & @Seetee_io Website: seetee.io Use Podcasting 2.0: Breez.Technology Fountain.FM NewPodcastingApps.com Value4Value.io