Bitcoin in Cuba
Two of the Co-founders of Cuba Bitcoin Offer an Account of What Bitcoin Does and Doesn't Fix in Their Home Country
You’ve probably read in the news lately about the blackouts and subsequent protests in Cuba.
You may have also read about President Trump saying that ‘Cuba’s next’ (after Venezuela and Iran) when it comes to U.S. military interventions.
The more headlines I read about Cuba, the more I wanted to get a better idea of what was actually happening in the country and how the Cuban people felt about it.
So, I invited two of the co-founders of the Cuba Bitcoin community to come on my podcast to discuss these recent happenings in their home country, and they graciously accepted.
Here’s an overview of what we touched on in the conversation:
The effect that seven decades of dictatorship has had on Cuba
Whether or not Cubans want U.S. intervention
What Bitcoin does and doesn’t fix in Cuba
The Cuba-tailored freedom tech that these co-founders have created
What it’s like to educate people on the ground in Cuba
Also, I tried something new for this episode: I conducted the interview in English and in Spanish with the help of the one and only Reyna Chicas, best known for her work as My First Bitcoin’s Bitcoin Training Coordinator (BTC).
My philosophy in conducting the interview in two languages is as follows: I’d like for more non-English speakers to understand the power of Bitcoin, and I’d especially like any Cubans that find this interview to feel comfortable listening to it in their native language.
Thus far, the reaction to the episode has been incredible and heartwarming.
Thank you to everyone out there who has already watched/listened and shared. I sincerely appreciated it.
On that note, here are the links to the episode:
The Motiv Perú Team Embraces Fedi
The incredible team at Motiv Perú, whose work I’ve written about for Forbes Digital Assets, has begun teaching the members of the communities with whom they work about how to use Fedi’s multiple features — from it’s wallet to its Communities and private messaging features.
I wrote a piece on this recent work with Fedi that the Motiv team has been doing. However, before sharing it, I’d like to note that I’ve joined the Fedi team as a content producer and strategist.
With that said, here’s a link to this week’s Community Spotlight piece for Fedi’s website:
Partnership
In the piece above, the team at Motiv highlighted how they are trying to make the members of the communities with whom they work more self sovereign with Bitcoin.
To truly attain this sovereignty, you have to hold your bitcoin in a non-custodial wallet, and a great wallet to start with for your long-term bitcoin savings is the Trezor Safe 3.
Trezor is a trusted brand, as its the longest-standing hardware wallet maker in the Bitcoin space, and the Safe 3 is both affordable and easy-to-use, making it a great cold storage wallet for beginners.
Click on the image below to get started on your self sovereignty journey today.
Markets
Bitcoin’s price has been chopping sideways for about a month now — just as long as the intervention/war in Iran has been going on.
I’m actually impressed that’s its price has held up so well, especially given the amount of uncertainty and fear in the market.
People may be starting to view Bitcoin as less of a risk-on tech-type asset and more of flight-to-safety play.
I have very little idea in which direction bitcoin’s price will move next, but I do feel these are good levels for dollar-cost averaging (DCAing) into bitcoin. (That’s not financial advice. Please don’t interpret it as such.)
With that said, I know that money is tight for many right now.
So, if you live in the U.S. like I do and you’re looking to stack some sats without spending your hard-earned fiat, I highly recommend using the Fold app and the Gemini credit card to do so.
You can use the Fold app to get free sats every day and to get sats back on gift card purchases. You can use my referral link to sign up.
And you can use the Gemini credit card to get up to 4% back in sats on everyday purchases. Again, you can use my referral link to sign up.
Also, if you are buying bitcoin as these levels, please stop using Coinbase (more on why here). Use Bitcoin-only exchanges like Strike, Fold, River, or Bitcoin Well instead.
Short rip this week.
Final thought: While the chaos in the world seems to refuse to subside, it’s also giving us an opportunity to look deeper within ourselves to find, develop, and nurture peace as well as to take stock of all that is good within our lives and to focus more on that.
I hope you’re all doing as well as can be, and, as always, I appreciate your time and attention in reading this newsletter.
Big love and big hugs to everyone.
Best,
Frank
Thanks, Frank - Good stuff!