Courage
Maya Parbhoe and Many Others Are Changing the World — Despite How Frightening the Task Is
Maya Parbhoe is running for president of Suriname on an anti-corruption/pro-Bitcoin platform.
She wants to put her country on a Bitcoin standard, which would also enable the citizens of Suriname — or anyone for that matter — to monitor government spending via the Bitcoin blockchain, something that would greatly benefit the country, which is rife with corruption.
She’s the first person in the world to run for the position of head of state on such a platform. This takes guts, because, in doing so, she’s taking on everyone who benefits from Suriname’s current corrupt system — some of whom are powerful and dangerous.
It’s stunning to me that she’d take on this challenge, as her father was murdered simply for speaking out against corruption in the country just 23 years ago.
So, maybe saying it takes guts to do what she’s doing is an understatement. Maybe it’s borderline insane — yet she’s doing it anyway.
We discussed this and more during our fireside chat at Bitcoin Amsterdam, one of the largest Bitcoin conferences in Europe, last week.
When we spoke, the room was packed, and the audience hung on her every word.
I used to work in the music business, and I’ve been to many shows featuring bands that were about to blow up and that were playing venues that could barely contain the audience that had come out to see them. This is what being in the room in which Maya and I spoke felt like.
I was never part of the band that was about to blow up, though, so it was kind of wild to be on stage with Maya at such a moment.
The talk was filmed and should be released this week. I’ll be sure to share it in an upcoming edition of this newsletter.
If you’d like a little sneak preview of what Maya had to say, you can catch the segment I did with her and Strike CEO Jack Mallers — one of the people who helped set the stage for bitcoin becoming legal tender in El Salvador — on the live desk the day before our fireside chat.
To my broader point about courage, though…
I spent a good chunk of this past week being completely terrified — much like I felt when I started writing this newsletter four years ago.
I was quite scared that I didn’t have what it took to host the live desk for 12 hours between the two days of the event, plus moderate two panels and host two fireside chats.
Luckily, I was joined and supported by such incredible people in this space — Susie Violet Ward, Roger Huang, Efrat Fenigson among many others — courageous people who’ve made a name for themselves writing and speaking about Bitcoin and controversial topics regarding human rights.
You can watch me/us in between each half hour talk at the links below:
Being with these people last week has made me think about all of the Bitcoin educators and public personalities that have come before me, and I’m more grateful to them than ever.
It had to have been petrifying to get on a stage and talk about Bitcoin 10 years ago, when it was much more taboo. Yet, people like Andreas Antonopolous and Eric Voorhees did it anyway. And without them, we might not be in a place where the likes of Maya Parbhoe can run for the highest office in her country on a platform that includes using Bitcoin to root out corruption.
The world is changing quickly. As it does, it’s important that we push back against accepting the status quo of the digital panopticon and fight for what we want the new world to look like.
Here’s to everyone out there doing that as a public figure who supports Bitcoin or other freedom tech like Nostr.
It takes guts to do what you’re doing, and I’m honored to be in this struggle with you.
Vexl Is The New LocalBitcoins
Last week, I interviewed the founder of Vexl, which is a Bitcoin P2P trading platform, much like the now defunct LocalBitcoins, but better.
If you’re into P2P Bitcoin trading that doesn’t require KYC, check out the article, and download the Vexl app.
Okay, that’s all. I’m still recovering from last week.
Thanks for reading!
Take it ease.
Best,
Frank
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