How to become a ‘Blockchain Radical,’ according to podcaster Joshua Dávila

August 9, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Activism

Despite its libertarian reputation, author and podcaster Joshua Dávila, aka The Blockchain Socialist, believes crypto is for everyone — including the Left.

Crypto has been the subject of much criticism from those on the political Left, many of whom see cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC) as being associated with libertarian or right-wing ideas. One common perception is that cryptocurrencies and other blockchain-based technologies, such as nonfungible tokens (NFTs), exist for the primary purpose of concentrating wealth, scamming investors and otherwise replicating existing financial and power structures — just in a more unregulated manner.

On Episode 16 of The Agenda podcast, hosts Ray Salmond and Jonathan DeYoung chat with author and podcaster Joshua Dávila, host of The Blockchain Socialist podcast and author of the new book Blockchain Radicals: How Capitalism Ruined Crypto and How to Fix It. Dávila is critical of the capitalistic tendencies of much of the crypto space and offers up an alternative informed by his perspective as a self-described “socialism maxi.”

“Capitalism ruined crypto”

Dávila acknowledged that there is a fundamental capitalistic mentality within most of crypto, saying the space has been “heavily influenced by kind of, I would say, more right-leaning libertarian thought, which includes a lot of, let’s say, support for capitalistic structures, for free markets and for all these things.”

This is reflected at a core level within the consensus mechanisms of most blockchains, which tend to rely on profit-seeking and asset accumulation to incentivize validators, he argued. “If there was no reason to accumulate profits or wealth in our society, then blockchains would crumble because that’s the way that they’re designed.”

Dávila pointed to venture capitalists, in particular, as a negative influence on crypto. He believes that while there were a lot of interesting experiments in the early days of crypto, the influx of venture capital has brought with it the expectation of massive returns for investors, which just ends up replicating the traditional economic order.

“If there is no protection or some reason stopping them from coming in, of course they’re going to come in, and they’re going to ruin things because that’s like the modus operandi of what they do.”

What’s the alternative?

There are many applications for cryptocurrency and blockchain that don’t fall within the existing socio-economic order, argued Dávila, who pointed to alternative chains such as Cosmos as examples of the way that a blockchain’s design can influence its social implications.

He gave the example of a 2022 incident on Juno, a part of the Cosmos network, in which the community voted to “expropriate” $35 million worth of airdropped JUNO tokens from a wallet that had allegedly managed to receive more tokens than it was supposed to. “They have very clear on-chain governance directly for the chain itself that had obvious sociopolitical consequences,” he said. “They would not have been able to do that if this was Bitcoin.”

For Dávila, that is a good thing: “Ultimately, we are the creators of our destiny, so we should embrace that fact and implement that in technological code the best we can.”

As for his broader dreams for the crypto and tech landscape, Dávila said he would love to see “the creation of applications that allow for collective ownership of digital infrastructure.”

“They [Web3 founders] need to create something that is different, that specifically gets at the root of the problem, which I think is how we own things and how we govern those things, and recognizing that our resources should be shared in common rather than completely privatized by whatever next billionaire comes up with another Big Tech company.”

To hear more from Dávila’s conversation with The Agenda, listen to the full episode on Cointelegraph’s Podcasts page, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. And don’t forget to check out Cointelegraph’s full lineup of other shows!

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This article is for general information purposes and is not intended to be and should not be taken as legal or investment advice. The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed here are the author’s alone and do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Cointelegraph.

Bitcoin evangelist Joe Hall tells The Agenda why he thinks BTC will conquer the world

June 7, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Bitcoin Community

Bitcoin has a marketing problem, but journalist and BTC evangelist Joe Hall is doing his best to fix it.

“Bitcoin has such a marketing problem.”

At least, that’s what came to mind for Bitcoin (BTC) advocate and Cointelegraph reporter Joe Hall when he was asked about the weaknesses and strengths of the popular cryptocurrency.

While not labeling himself a “Bitcoin maximalist,” Hall believes that most people — including crypto OGs — are shockingly unaware of what Bitcoin can do; and for this reason, he questions the necessity and future of most altcoin projects.

“They’re doing it with imperfect solutions that in the long term will rug-pull them or close enough to that. Because, let’s be honest, all of these crypto projects eventually collapse into Bitcoin, or they eventually collapse full stop. I mean, we saw enough of that last year. And, you know, in 10, 15, 20, maybe 40 years’ time, will Bitcoin still be running? 1,000%. Will Ethereum still be running? Question marks. And will the other 20-ish thousand crypto projects still be going strong? I’m pretty confident they won’t be.”

Hall proved his point by asking co-hosts Jonathan DeYoung and Ray Salmond to open up their Bitcoin Lightning wallets to accept the equivalent of $5 in satoshis. And after DeYoung downloaded the wallet and received the payment, both co-hosts were astonished at the speed of the transaction.

On Episode 13 of The Agenda podcast, Salmond and DeYoung spoke with Hall about his views on Bitcoin adoption and its “marketing problem,” his ultimate vision of how Bitcoin could eventually conquer the financial world, and how his experience as a Bitcoin evangelist has connected him with people all around the world.

It’s more than just money

Hall believes that Bitcoin is more than just money: It’s a revolution, a lifestyle, a binder of people and a builder of community.

Hall said:

“Bitcoin, to me, in my own words: It’s an expression of how we approach the world, I guess. I mean, it’s had an impact on me, in terms of my approach to people, to different cultures and in the way in which I interact with people — despite the fact that it is just a bunch of code on a screen. And because it’s rewired the way in which I look at the world and consider things, it’s taught me to be more skeptical and to not take things at face value. But it’s also delivered a lot of hope and a lot of sort of meaning to my existence that perhaps wasn’t there previously.”

Hall has elected to only live off Bitcoin for day-to-day expenses, excluding when he has to pay European Union taxes. As to why he is such a strong believer in the digital currency, Hall shared, “We can’t live in a world that is governed by growth at all costs when we have one finite, very precious planet.”

“Bitcoin, for me, it appeals to me because of the way that it flips that all on its head. You know, we have a deflationary currency, there’s only going to be 21 million, and we can rebuild our economic system off that in a way that raises all boats, not just the elite few. And it tackles things like the wealth gap and wealth inequality. It tackles things like the environment and the way in which, you know, Bitcoin mining could be this transition to using more and more renewable energies.”

To hear more from Hall’s conversation with The Agenda — including Hall’s future vision for Bitcoin and his fascination with the Lightning Network — listen to the full episode on Cointelegraph’s Podcasts page, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. And don’t forget to check out Cointelegraph’s full lineup of other shows!

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Mutual aid, DAOs and activism — The Agenda podcast chats with PactDAO co-founder Marisa Rando

May 10, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Activism

PactDAO co-founder Marisa Rando says the decentralization of mutual aid collectives is the key to catalyzing activism and building stronger communities.

The efforts of many charities organizations are often hampered by the red tape of bureaucracy, and the presence of hierarchical structures within these organizations can complicate matters even further.

To bypass this inefficient rigamarole, PactDAO co-founder Marisa Rando suggests that those aiming to distribute aid focus on being “active” as this is the root word in the term “activism.” Rando hinted that the presence of hierarchical structures within charitable organizations leads to bias in the distribution of aid, whereas adopting a fully decentralized model encourages activism from givers and recipients.

This results in the foundation of stronger communities and more objectivity and fairness in the selection and distribution of aid. This is the true intent of mutual aid and grassroots activism.

On Episode 11 of The Agenda, hosts Jonathan DeYoung and Ray Salmond were joined by PactDAO co-founder Marisa Rando, who discussed the key differences between charity and mutual aid, along with several of the initiatives being spearheaded by PactDAO.

When skepticism turns to optimism

Initially, Rando and others at PactDAO were generally skeptical about cryptocurrency, but after a year of successfully fundraising and connecting NYC residents with various mutual aid organizations, a few members began to explore more efficient ways to democratically run the organization and distribute aid.

Recurring challenges with trying to establish a multisig bank account eventually led to PactDAO exploring the components of Web3.

Rando said:

“We had been kind of like talking to lawyers and talking to accountants and trying to design what we would later find out is like a multi-sig. We were like, how do we create this bank account in which like, you know, multiple groups can be involved in it? But, you know, there's guardrails. There's a democracy built into it, and I remember explaining this to a friend and they were like, this is what I've been talking to you about. This is like this crypto stuff. This is like what our DAO runs on. It's called a multi-signature wallet. And I was like, I don't know, I don't want to hear about any of this crypto stuff.”

Fortunately, the group’s views on crypto, Web3 and NFTs changed after Rando connected with “some like minded people in this space, people who I'm close friends with now and have become good mentors and partners and people that I work with.”

DOAs democratize activism and the distribution of aid

When asked about the reasons for transforming Pact Collective into a DAO, Rando said:

“Back to when we just called ourselves Pact Collective. We were like, what does this collective mean? We were running our subscription service, for example, we used to do these monthly email newsletters and we would put surveys in there and had this like close friends group on Instagram. That was how we stayed in touch with people who were donating. And we would ask them like, hey, help us decide which organization to give to next month, or you know, what do you think we should take on next?”

According to Rando, the structure and function of a DAO allows for more organic input and participation from members, which in her view is a net positive since members “are the most equipped to make those decisions.”

To hear more from Rando’s conversation with The Agenda — including PactDAO’s current initiatives, goals for 2023 and the current status of mutual aid collectives — listen to the full episode on Cointelegraph’s Podcasts page, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. And don’t forget to check out Cointelegraph’s full lineup of other shows!

Magazine: Building community resilience to crises through mutual aid and Web3

Who watches the watchers? CryptoHarlem founder Matt Mitchell explains why surveillance is the enemy

April 12, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Adoption

CryptoHarlem founder Matt Mitchell says government and corporate surveillance and citizens’ inability to protect against it are great threats to personal security.

Technology can be one’s best friend or, in some cases, their worst enemy. For example, Meta and TikTok seamlessly connect millions of people with loved ones and strangers, and while the platforms are a great resource for finding information and communicating with others, there are valid concerns about violations of users’ privacy and the monetization and possible outright theft of users’ data.

The same can be said for surveillance and security. There is often a gift-and-a-curse style relationship, wherein the exact surveillance tools meant to keep people safe and deter crime are often used to oppress and control citizens or even ignore the criminal acts of those in power.

To explore this contentious topic in greater depth, show hosts Jonathan DeYoung and Ray Salmond invited renowned hacker and activist Matt Mitchell to the most recent episode of The Agenda podcast.

Who is watching the watchers?

When asked to share some examples of what drives his passion for hacktivism and which threats might be the most immediate for the average person, Mitchell said:

“You exist as a target of surveillance no matter what you do, right? And it might be commercial surveillance, the cookies on your browser, it might be the tracking on your phone. And normally, the incentive is financial gain, right? So, people want to sell your data to an advertiser to learn more about you so they can monetize it. Even the most failed startup is like sell this data, get out of this problem.”

To emphasis the increased danger of the surveillance threat to communities of color in the United States, Mitchell explained:

“Now, if you are a Black person or you're in an historically Black community or a majority Black community, that surveillance includes law enforcement surveillance. It also includes private surveillance. That's commercial surveillance. It might include the housing project you live in or the development community surveillance. And when you put it all together, there's a 4D, like 4K, super-high-res image of your life because you're under so many layers of surveillance that there's almost no space that's actually your private space.”

Mitchell said the very first thing he teaches people is that “surveillance is bad, and we need to stop it.”

When Salmond suggested that security is ultimately designed to keep citizens safe, Mitchell countered with:

“For example, let's say you work as a tech, you have privileged access. So, only you and three other cybersecurity people or data people have access to all the sensitive keys. In the beginning, it's used to stop abuse on the platform, but at the end, you're using it to stalk someone you're romantically interested, right? Because surveillance corrupts you in an insidious way. Kind of like the One Ring.”

According to Mitchell:

“The group that wields the surveillance tool is not wielding it upon itself. They're not the ones that are being watched. It is the watcher, not the watchers, that is on the empowerment side of this thing.”

To hear more from Mitchell’s conversation with The Agenda — including his backstory and the revolutionary objectives of CryptoHarlem — listen to the full episode on Cointelegraph’s Podcasts page, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. And don’t forget to check out Cointelegraph’s full lineup of other shows!

The views, thoughts and opinions expressed here are the authors’ alone and do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Cointelegraph.

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