Name: Nik

Country: USA

How long have you been into Bitcoin and what got you interested?

The first time I ever heard about and bought bitcoin was in the fall of 2017 when my brother and his friends introduced me to it. While they were explaining it to me I thought it was a ponzi scheme, and decided to join in to try to make a quick buck. After downloading Coinbase off the app store I had a realization that there was something more to this, because Apple wouldn’t let a blatant ponzi scheme on their platform. After researching more, I was fascinated by how the current financial system worked inside and outside the US, and about fiat currency in less fortunate countries, and what Bitcoin offers those citizens. Bitcoin stuck out to me as a potential solution to a massive problem, and you can’t just ignore that after you learn about it. Also it was my senior year of high school and I was about to start my adult life. I wanted to start earning and investing to be wealthy at a young age and enjoy life. Seeing how volatile bitcoin is, I saw opportunity and knew I had to dig deeper.

Best Bitcoin experience and worst Bitcoin experience?

My best experience so far has got to be going to BitBlockBoom last summer. That was my first time meeting Bitcoiners in person and I got to meet many of the plebs I’ve been bullshitting with on Twitter. Shoutout Optimist, Nico and Ben Carman! My worst experience was when I watched a misinforming documentary on veganism, and I said my uninformed opinion about it on Twitter, and got my ass ROASTED by everyone lol.

What is something that no one knows about you that you do outside of the Bitcoin world?

I really enjoy wakeboarding and have gotten decently good at it. Every summer growing up I spent a lot of time out on the water wakeboarding and water tubing with family and friends. Last year when school went online and I lost my job due to the scamdemic, I had a lot of free time and was out on the water all day every day. Now summer is almost here and I can’t wait to get out on the water again.

What is the biggest fail you have ever seen in the Bitcoin world?

At the end of the last bull run when Bitconnect exit scammed, there were two things that happened that I’ll never forget. The first one was this guy who got all caught up in the hype, and put his life savings of around $400-500k into Bitconnect in hope to “impress his wife” by becoming a millionaire quickly. The week he put his life savings into Bitconnect, they exit scammed and he lost everything. Oof.

The second one also involved Bitconnect and a YouTuber who promoted it named Crypto Nick. I watched Nick’s videos on Bitconnect and thought it was so cool who he was “making” so much money for doing almost nothing, and so did many others judging by his video views. Well when Bitconnect exit scammed, so did Nick, and he deleted his channel. People who lost big money and were influenced by Nick to join were furious, and I saw people posting screenshots of bounties on the dark web for Nick. No amount of money is worth it when that’s the result.

How did you get hooked up with Bitcoin Magazine and what are you working on over there?

I was working at a physical therapy clinic while in college and eventually got laid off due to the scamdemic. While that was going on, I was attending Al Lacrosse’s Dirtbag Friday every week, getting some facetime with other Bitcoiners. I finished the semester and was talking about how I wanted a Bitcoin job, then everyone in the zoom call was tweeting, trying to meme my way into a job at Trezor and others. And also tweeting out that I was the CEO of Swan so much that Brady joined the call saying their company Slack was blowing up with messages that I had taken over as CEO, and none of them knew what was going on lol. But in that call was my current boss CK, who messaged me asking if I were open to working for him. I said yes, and not long after I was interning for BM! Later that year my internship turned into a full time position.

Right now I’m in charge of running their social media. I also really like to write articles and want to keep pushing myself in upping the quality of my writing. I did podcasting for them for almost a year but recently stopped to pursue other stuff I enjoy more.

What is it like being so young and working in the Bitcoin world?

Being young and working in the Bitcoin world has been great! Nearly everyone I meet is super supportive of me, wants to see me succeed and offers to help me in any way they can. I'm super grateful and appreciative of that and the opportunities I’ve had come my way. I feel like my age had given me a short term competitive advantage in the space since there were so few other zoomers eager to work. But now there are a lot more zoomers who are working in Bitcoin and it makes me so bullish! Meeting these other Bitcoin zoomers in person has been awesome as well.

Bitcoin is full of very smart, talented and driven individuals. Being able to network and learn from these people has taught me an insane amount. I have taken a lot of great advice from many different Bitcoiners that have allowed me to capture opportunities I couldn't even see and get ahead in life. And since most Bitcoiners seem to be millennials through boomers, they are pretty eager to pass on their knowledge and wisdom to the zoomers now getting into the space.

You also do the Bitcoin Kindergarten podcast with a few plebs. Tell us about what that is about and why people should listen?

Bitcoin Kindergarten is different from all other podcasts in one way: our audience participates in each show. The show is hosted live in discord every Wednesday night where we have a voice chat room full of Bitcoiners ready to talk Bitcoin. We do about an hour long, educational show then another recording right after that, recapping the news that happened that week.

The show also builds Bitcoiners. We’ve had completely new people to Bitcoin come on the show, ask all their questions, and everyone in the audience helps answer their questions. Everyone gets to ask questions in the Q+A segment after the educational presentation, and participate in the weekly recap conversation. The audience really makes the show, so if you enjoy talking with other plebs, this is the show for you!

People have this misconception that you have to be a developer to work in the Bitcoin space. Explain why this is not true and how someone interested in following your footsteps can get involved.

There are so many job openings popping up in the Bitcoin space, the last job I’d ever take is to be a developer! I’m not a coder and have no plans on learning how to code anything really. Many companies are hiring for all sorts of different roles that are typical at all types of companies. If you really want a job working for a Bitcoin company, you can most likely find it.

This website bitcoinerjobs.co is where you can find loads of opportunities. They update it pretty often and I’ve already seen plebs on Twitter get hired from it. Tell people you’re interested in working in the Bitcoin space and show off any work you can. For example I would write articles on Medium in my free time in college, showing people I’m willing to put in the effort to research and understand Bitcoin. It raises your credibility and the higher you raise that, the more opportunity that will come your way.

Network with as many Bitcoiners as you can. You never know who may be building a business or be able to give you a working opportunity.

What does the Bitcoin pleb movement mean to you, and why do you feel it is important?

To me, the pleb movement is special because it’s taught me to not chase fame and focus on more important things. That was huge and different for me, growing up in a generation of everyone trying to get famous online for any reason. Nobody is bigger or more important than Bitcoin, ending central banking and fiat currency is the goal and if you don’t move out of the way, you’ll get run over. We just want a better world to live in where we have full control over our lives. As well as not to allow anyone to screw me over and call out any bullshit when I see it. There are a lot of snakes in the grass and being able to spot them is beneficial. Plebs just want to do well in life and not have anyone do things to hinder their success. They want to take full responsibility for their actions, whether it be good or bad. I’m a very principled person, so this whole pleb movement really resonated with me.

It’s important because the plebs are just people wanting to live their best lives and not be stolen via their time and money. We love Bitcoin because it gives everyone an even playing field where we can store our time and energy for the future, and reap all the benefits of that.

What is your take on toxicity in Bitcoin? Do you feel it is important?

Bitcoin’s toxicity is fantastic because it’s a worldwide network of cyber hornets protecting Bitcoin. They work for Bitcoin and serve it. They are rewarded with number go up and a better financial system in return. Anyone who goes against Bitcoin in any way is seen as a threat and will be dealt with.

Honey badger doesnt give a fuck about your feelings! Toxic Bitcoiners don’t want to waste their time playing with shitcoins, if shitcoiners really wanted to change the world they’d join us in ushering in a Bitcoin standard as that’s our best shot. The toxicity in Bitcoin helps keep away people with no conviction, and with there only being 21 million bitcoin, I want more than those people!

Why do you think some people, especially noobs gravitate to shitcoins?

They think they missed the boat on Bitcoin, and unit bias. They see all the scammers and FUDsters hating on Bitcoin whilst shilling their shit, and they’re drawn to it like moths to a flame. They know they missed out on previous gains, and think they can replicate it with shitcoins. They don’t know any better and think that all coins are just as good as Bitcoin. They’re wrong and will get burned touching the hot stove.

What are your thoughts about Elon Musk shilling $DOGE and Bitcoin energy FUD?

The whole Elon / Doge situation has really gotten out of hand lately. There are people out there who genuinely think that doge is a great coin and even better than Bitcoin. He’s leading people to the edge of a cliff and many are going to get rekt. I wish I could tap into Elons brain to see exactly what he is thinking because I can’t tell if he’s trolling, because he’s taken this far.

I hate the energy FUD so much because it all comes from hypocrites who use stupid amounts of energy on stuff they should hate by their logic. “Bitcoin is awful because it uses way too much energy” says the idiot on Tik Tok using a brand new iPhone who watches too much Netflix and YouTube on their expensive computer with all the lights on in their house. Using energy is not a bad thing, it's a good thing, and these people FUDing Bitcoin’s energy consumption don’t get to decide what’s a good and bad use of your energy. Also really ironic how they are saying the current financial system is fine even though it uses more electricity and literally enslaves them.

How do you feel about NFT’s and the people promoting them?

I honestly don’t see the point in NFT’s. I’m not paying for the bragging rights of owning a piece of online art that I can screenshot for free. Plus they’re on a shitcoin, so I’ll pass. The shitcoin influencers promoting them are pure garbage and know they’re just shilling the current hype scam where they can sell them and profit.

What do you have to say to shitcoiners who believe Ethereum or another alt will flip Bitcoin?

Cry harder.

What do you feel is the biggest threat to Bitcoin right now?

I honestly don’t know. Government bans haven't stopped it, attacks on the network haven't stopped it, toxicity is at an all time high. I’m just curious to see what obstacle Bitcoin prevails over next.

Who is the biggest Bitcoin sell out that deserves to be put on blast?

Erik Voorhees. Total scumbag who tried to kill Bitcoin and now says: oopsie, sorry guys! It was just a small mistake!

He tried desperately to centralize and control Bitcon, therefore he tried to destroy it. We only have one shot with Bitcoin and he tried to ruin it for everyone for his own personal gain. I have no idea how people haven't cancelled him like they did with Trace Mayer. He was and still is an enemy of Bitcoin, since he primarily focuses on shilling mETH. Which he obviously likes better because it’s centralized.

Who are some of the most hardcore Bitcoiners you know and why?

Saint Bitcoin is a hustler who lost his career due to the lockdowns, and did not let that stop him from stacking sats. Awyee is someone I can always count on to call out the bullshit, no matter who it is. Nico hates communism just as much as me and where I see the world headed is, it’s either Bitcoin or that. Francis Pouliot is a badass who votes not only with his money but also his feet. Not many would have the balls to leave their home country in North America for South America to escape the authorantiran bull shit going on.

Where do you think Bitcoin will go in your lifetime and why?

I’m hoping I live a really long and healthy life. I would love to see it hit dollar sat parity at $100 million, so I’m rooting for that! Bitcoin has already won, but once the rest of the world realizes this, all the value of everything in the world is going to flow into Bitcoin.

Everyone is going to call me a bear, but I’m hoping for $10 million by 2030.

How important is it for someone to run a node and what benefits do you feel it provides?

They’re many important reasons for running a node, but what has always stuck out to me is being able to defend the network from bad actors like what happened in 2017. It’s security and you can give the middle finger to anyone trying to go against Bitcoin’s rules. The users protect the system, and they’re a lot of evil people out there who want to destroy Bitcoin, running a node is your part in deafening Bitcoin from them. Bitcoin is our one and only shot at ending central banking, we can’t allow anyone to stop us. You can also verify the total supply of Bitcoin and verify that any and all bitcoin you receive is actually legit, so you never have to trust anyone. You can verify everything for yourself.

What Bitcoin innovations get you the most fired up?

Mobile apps that allow anyone to buy bitcoin instantly and cheaply in countries outside the US. We are spoiled here with options and most Bitcoiners in most countries have a more difficult time buying, especially in developing countries. I can’t wait for Strike to roll out to the 200+ countries like they announced. They will then be able to buy bitcoin more often and save their wealth in it. Taking more and more bitcoin out of circulation, making number go up, and people's lives change for the better. Lightning development gets me fired up as well.

What are your goto Bitcoin storage options?

I really like Coldcard as a single sig set up. But I feel safer using multisig and I’m really impressed with Specter and Unchained Capital. Both are fantastic. I also have a few sats on a mobile wallet if I need to use them for whatever reason, it feels nice to always have some corn on me.

Any tips you want to give to people new to Bitcoin?

Don’t try to understand any other coin until you fully understand Bitcoin. It will help you stay focused and ignore the noise. There are so many things in this space desperate for your attention, just stay focused and learn about Bitcoin. Once you understand Bitcoin, you’ll realize you didn’t need to learn about other coins to know why they’re scams.

The goal is to increase your BTC amount, not your USD amount! Bitcoin is the real unit of account, count your profits in it and you’ll be very happy. Ask questions on everything. Never stop learning, never stop stacking sats.

Name some of your favorite information sources and/or podcasts in the space.

Biased but it’s true, Bitcoin Magazine is the best place to read all about the latest news in the space. The team is run by plebs for plebs. The quality of written content on our website is something I’m proud of.

I like podcasts from Stephen Livera, Michael Saylor, The Fun With Bitcoin Podcast, The Bitcoin Matrix, and Bitcoin Rapid Fire.

The Bitcoin Standard and Thank God For Bitcoin are two great Bitcoin books. The Theory of Money & Credit by Mises is a tough read but it’s really good.