Fountain
The Path of Freedom and Sovereignty with Natalie Smolenski
What Bitcoin Did with Peter McCormack

The Path of Freedom and Sovereignty with Natalie Smolenski

Oct 12 2022 • 1hr 57m

Show Notes

“The only way that tyranny is prevented is a strong civil society that the state actually becomes concerned about.”— Natalie SmolenskiNatalie Smolenski is an Executive Director of the Texas Bitcoin Foundation and a Fellow at the Bitcoin Policy Institute. In this interview, we discuss the elimination of cash, the importance of Bitcoin to a free society, and the clear and present danger posed by CBDCs.- - - - Like the fable of a frog being not perceiving danger when slowly boiled, citizens in mature democracies have been surrendering to the steady erosion of their privacy and rights. The issue is that society now stands unknowingly at the edge of a precipice. Governments and compliant businesses are working on a technology that they will sell as providing utility but could herald the end of democracy: CBDCs. Whilst Bitcoiners are aware of the dangers, it seems as though the rest of society, including decision-makers, are ignorant. Faster, less costly, more convenient payment systems - what’s the problem many will ask. The risks of providing unfettered access to arguably the most critical component of our private data do not resonate with those who have already traded their privacy with social media companies. But, there is obviously a massive difference between surveillance capitalism and unprecendented government oversight of individuals’ financial data. And further, as Natalie Smolenski alludes to in the whitepaper she has written with Dan Held, “Why the U.S. Should Reject Central Bank Digital Currencies”, adopting CBDCs could be a one-way valve: reversing political will and technology is formidably hard. Once cash has gone, it won’t be coming back. The battle is not only for democracy, it is for prosperity. The American experiment has shown that bottom up innovation can thrive in a free society. It is hard to imagine the industrial revolution occurring if feudalism was still the dominant form of societal organisation. It was the enlightenment, the development of ideas of freedom, tolerance, fraternity and rights that enabled humans to flourish. This is perhaps Bitcoiners' most important fight. Education, advocacy and conviction are our weapons. Maintaining our personal sovereignty is the prize. - - - - This episode’s sponsors:Gemini - Buy Bitcoin instantlyLedn - Financial services for Bitcoin hodlersBitcasino - The Future of Gaming is herePacific Bitcoin - Bitcoin‑only event, Nov 10 & 11, 2022Ledger - State of the art Bitcoin hardware walletWasabi Wallet - Privacy by defaultTexas Blockchain Summit - Nov 17-18, 2022 | Austin, TexasBCB Group - Global digital financial Services-----WBD566 - Show Notes-----If you enjoy The What Bitcoin Did Podcast you can help support the show by doing the following:Become a Patron and get access to shows early or help contributeMake a tip:Bitcoin: 3FiC6w7eb3dkcaNHMAnj39ANTAkv8Ufi2SQR Codes: BitcoinIf you do send a tip then please email me so that I can say thank youSubscribe on iTunes | Spotify | Stitcher | SoundCloud | YouTube | Deezer | TuneIn | RSS FeedLeave a review on iTunesShare the show and episodes with your friends and familySubscribe to the newsletter on my websiteFollow me on Twitter Personal | Twitter Podcast | Instagram | Medium | YouTubeIf you are interested in sponsoring the show, you can read more about that here or please feel free to drop me an email to discuss options.
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@cryosats
10,000 sats
Oct 14 2022
Natalie is the voice Bitcoin needs more than ever. Epic rip! Good work Danny ;) 🏔️☃️❄️🌽⚡🧡
@michaelmatulef
500 sats
Oct 13 2022
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@michaelmatulef
500 sats
Oct 13 2022
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@cryosats
333 sats
Oct 12 2022
Epic rip Peter! 🧡🧡🧡🌽🌽🌽
@cryosats
333 sats
Oct 12 2022
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@cryosats
333 sats
Oct 12 2022
3333
@zanon
100 sats
Oct 13 2022
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@laskeeze
100 sats
Oct 14 2022
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@wrexxy
100 sats
Oct 14 2022
you mentioned Pete at about 52 minute mark you’ll have anyone on the show. then invite Stefan Molyneux. He’ll be able to expand on your discussion with Natalie. do it buddy.
@qwqventureprns
100 sats
Oct 16 2022
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@maciej
100 sats
Oct 13 2022
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@user3371877386760898
75 sats
Oct 14 2022
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@cryosats
33 sats
Oct 12 2022
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@cryosats
33 sats
Oct 13 2022
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@cryosats
33 sats
Oct 13 2022
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@cryosats
33 sats
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@cryosats
33 sats
Oct 13 2022
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@lukasz
25 sats
Oct 15 2022
gr8 show
@lightningdav
21 sats
Oct 14 2022
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