Bitcoiners - Live From Bitcoin Beach

Is Bitcoin actually helping anyone, or is it just another Wall Street game with better branding? In this conversation, Mike Peterson sits down with Jeremy Almond (@jeremyalmond) to argue that the answer shows up in Bitcoin circular economies, where people earn, spend, and save in Bitcoin as a medium of exchange, and where financial inclusion can look like a kid getting access to school, tools, and a first job.Jeremy shares the personal story that brought him here, shaped by the 2008 financial crisis, Occupy Wall Street, and a family tragedy that turned “money problems” into a life-changing emergency. It is the kind of Main Street vs Wall Street moment that forces a choice, either accept the system as it is or build toward something that gives people more economic agency.Then Jeremy breaks down what Paystand is doing, and why the company keeps Bitcoin in the background. He explains how Bitcoin adoption can happen through business-friendly rails, payment solutions, corporate cards, and payroll, so companies get speed and lower costs without needing a boardroom debate about Bitcoin first.The conversation also goes deep on Paystand.org and corporate philanthropy that tries to avoid the usual traps. The focus is economic empowerment, not dependency, and the goal is to fund and support grassroots leaders who are building circular Bitcoin economies that can stand on their own.Finally, Mike and Jeremy zoom in on what actually scales, Hope House, Bitcoin education, fellowships, and the tough balance between moving fast and protecting communities from bad actors. If you want the clearest case for how Bitcoin can change outcomes in the economy people live in every day, this episode makes the argument without pretending it is easy.-Bitcoin Beach TeamConnect and Learn more about Jeremy Almond:X: https://x.com/jeremyalmond YT: https://www.youtube.com/@redefinedpodcast YT: https://www.youtube.com/@PayStand Support and follow Bitcoin Beach:X: https://www.twitter.com/BitcoinBeach IG: https://www.instagram.com/bitcoinbeach_sv TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@livefrombitcoinbeach Web: https://www.bitcoinbeach.com Browse through this quick guide to learn more about the episode:00:00  Intro03:42 - How did the 2008 financial crisis spark Jeremy’s Bitcoin journey?07:48 - What is Paystand’s "Trojan Horse" strategy for Bitcoin adoption?12:42 - How do corporate cards introduce companies to Bitcoin? What role does Bitwage play?16:29 - How a payments company became a top 20 Bitcoin miner20:16 - Why are circular economies the "purest" form of Bitcoin?23:51 - How does Hope House use Bitcoin mining for education?26:33 - Why send tech employees to indigenous communities? How do fellowships change corporate culture?30:34 - How do you scale grassroots Bitcoin movements without breaking them?34:29 - Why does traditional foreign aid fail? How does Bitcoin fix the incentive structure?39:16 - What is Paystand.org? How can you volunteer for circular economy projects?Live From Bitcoin Beach

What if democracy can’t survive sound money, because it runs on promises it can’t fund?Knut Svanholm sits down with Mike Peterson in El Salvador, fresh from a formal night at the presidential palace with President Nayib Bukele. Phones taken, press everywhere, and a president who feels unnervingly normal to Bitcoiners. Knut’s take is blunt, El Salvador may have accidentally voted “one of us” into office, and the results feel like the inverse of clown world.Then the conversation turns to the cage, fiat currency. They break down how money printing, capital gains tax, and government overreach work together to punish anyone trying to use sound money as an inflation hedge. If you have ever felt like you are being taxed for refusing to play the inflation game, this will hit a nerve.From Centro Histórico to El Zonte, they get practical about what Bitcoin adoption actually looks like when it is not just “number go up” technology. A circular economy takes time, merchant by merchant orange pill work, and more people using the Lightning Network for everyday payments instead of treating Bitcoin like a museum piece.They widen out to Madeira and Prague, where Bitcoin communities are forming in their own ways. You will hear why BTCmap.org (https://btcmap.org/) matters, why Prague gets called the Bitcoin capital of Europe, and why Vexl is one of the most interesting peer-to-peer tools right now for building a web of trust when rules tighten.Finally, Knut leans into his anarcho-capitalism lens, the Shawshank Redemption metaphor, and the mindset behind “you can just do things.” If this episode made you uncomfortable, good, subscribe, share it with the friend still asking permission.-Bitcoin Beach TeamConnect and Learn more about Knut SvanholmX: https://x.com/knutsvanholm YT:  @bitcoininfinityshow     Support and follow Bitcoin Beach:X: https://www.twitter.com/BitcoinBeach IG: https://www.instagram.com/bitcoinbeach_sv TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@livefrombitcoinbeach Web: https://www.bitcoinbeach.com Browse through this quick guide to learn more about the episode:00:00 - Intro01:43 - What is Bukele like in person?03:52 - Why do Bitcoiners say fiat currency is built on money printing?05:38 - Why does Bukele push circular economy adoption? 07:47 - Why do incentives matter more than democracy?10:18 - Why doesn’t Bitcoin adoption happen overnight? 14:02 - How did Free Madeira begin? What actually moves merchant Bitcoin adoption?19:55 - How do you travel on a Bitcoin standard? What tools make a 100% Bitcoin vacation possible21:26 - Why is Prague a Bitcoin hub? What makes it Europe’s Bitcoin capital22:41 - What is Vexl for peer-to-peer Bitcoin trading?24:22 - Why do European Bitcoiners feel squeezed? What role do CBDCs play in the pressure?32:10 - What Shawshank teaches about hope, fear, and living like a free person?35:09 - Why is Bitcoin an inflation hedge?Live From Bitcoin Beach

What if the real trap is not working hard, it is spending your best years building someone else’s empire with money you do not even trust?Mike Peterson sits down with Efrat Fenigson (@efenigson) during Bitcoin Historico for a blunt conversation about the fiat system, corporate life, and why “growth for growth’s sake” eventually stops making sense. Efrat explains how years of being great at driving revenue for other people pushed her toward a bigger question: who is this all really for?Before Bitcoin, Efrat Fenigson was deep in the tech world, first as a developer in Australia, then rising to executive roles in Israel. She talks about being a woman in tech on male-dominated teams, the early career reality behind the kinds of paths people imagine when they search video game designer job opportunities, and the moment she realized the work was not the same as purpose.Then things get personal. Efrat shares what happened when she spoke out during Covid, how backlash followed, and why free speech became a line she would not cross, even if it cost her socially and professionally. This is the part of the story where “play it safe” stops being advice and starts being a warning.Bitcoin enters through one sharp question that changed everything, “can they touch it?” Efrat Fenigson describes why self-custody, sound money, and censorship resistance felt like freedom tech, not just finance. It is also where her drive for financial independence turns into something broader, a freedom movement mindset built around sovereignty and personal responsibility.Finally, they zoom out to Bitcoin adoption in El Salvador, including Bitcoin Beach in El Zonte and what a real circular economy looks like when it is not just theory. Efrat and Mike Peterson talk about merchants accepting Bitcoin, why even small savings windows can change how people plan their lives, and why on-the-ground reality matters more than headlines.-Bitcoin Beach TeamConnect and Learn more about X: https://x.com/efenigson YT: https://www.youtube.com/@EfratFenigson Support and follow Bitcoin Beach:X: https://www.twitter.com/BitcoinBeach IG: https://www.instagram.com/bitcoinbeach_sv TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@livefrombitcoinbeach Web: https://www.bitcoinbeach.com Browse through this quick guide to learn more about the episode:00:00:00 - Intro: Observing the reality of Bitcoin in El Salvador 00:08:13 - How do you become a global CMO in Israel? 00:09:43 - How can single motherhood and divorce debt push someone to pursue financial independence and retire early? 00:13:58 - Why do high earners quit corporate jobs? 00:17:51 - What happens when you speak out during Covid? 00:21:11 - How did Efrat Fenigson get into Bitcoin?  00:21:47 - Can the government seize Bitcoin? What does ‘can they touch it’ mean for self-custody and censorship resistance?  00:34:52 - Is Bitcoin still being used in El Salvador? What is Bitcoin Beach in El Zonte really like for visitors?  00:41:20 - Why do merchants accept Bitcoin in El Salvador? Does Bitcoin adoption actually help small businesses save money?  00:42:13 - Why is Bitcoin called freedom tech? How does sound money connect to a freedom movement and personal sovereignty? Live From Bitcoin Beach

What if Bitcoin does not fail because of governments, banks, or the IMF, but because Bitcoiners themselves refuse to actually use it? In this episode, Mike sits down with Isabella Santos in El Salvador to confront one of the most uncomfortable questions in Bitcoin today. Is most “Bitcoin adoption” actually fake if merchants never see anyone spend sats?Isabella shares the unfiltered story of how BTC Isla in Isla Mujeres went from a Twitter idea to a true Bitcoin circular economy with a Bitcoin cafe, a Bitcoin gym, and over 30 local merchants now accepting sats. She explains why trying to orange pill people with education alone did not work, and why building real businesses that accept Bitcoin as sound money was the only way to earn real trust inside the community.In one of the most extreme Bitcoin experiments you will hear this year, Isabella Santos lived for 21 days using only Bitcoin, earning sats through physical jobs like cleaning toilets, selling churros, and making tacos. No fiat safety net. No savings bailout. Just proof that a circular economy either works in real life, or it does not exist at all.The conversation then turns toward a side of Bitcoin many people avoid. Isabella openly calls out Bitcoin maxis who refuse to spend sats, the rise of ETFs that distract from sound money, and the uncomfortable truth that Bitcoin mining hardware is already highly centralized in only a few manufacturers. Her warning is simple and unsettling. Bitcoin does not win automatically. It only works if people fight for it.They close with the human side of adoption through the Bitcoin Fit Games, where fitness, scavenger hunts, and sats came together to support the very merchants who took the first risk on Bitcoin. From helping feed a family in crisis to building a wellness hub with a gym, recovery center, and café, Isabella Santos shows what Bitcoin looks like when it leaves Twitter and enters real life.—Bitcoin Beach teamConnect and Learn more about Isabella Santos:X: https://x.com/BTCIsla X: https://x.com/isabellasg3 YT: https://www.youtube.com/@btcisla Support the project through Geyser Fund: https://geyser.fund/project/btcisla https://www.youtube.com/@getbasedtvSupport and follow Bitcoin Beach:X: https://www.twitter.com/BitcoinBeach IG: https://www.instagram.com/bitcoinbeach_sv TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@livefrombitcoinbeach Web: https://www.bitcoinbeach.com Browse through this quick guide to learn more about the episode:0:00 Intro1:25 Is El Salvador really welcoming Bitcoiners at the airport with a “Welcome to Bitcoin Country” sign?4:49 What is BTC Isla and how does it work? How do you set up a Bitcoin cafe payment system that actually gets used?8:23 How does Bitcoin relate to health and low time preference at the first Bitcoin gym in Mexico running its own node?11:14 Can you live using only Bitcoin for 21 days? How do you get paid in Bitcoin for local jobs on an island?13:01 Should Bitcoin prices be listed in sats or fiat? How do you separate a Bitcoin savings stack from a spending stack so you can spend without guilt?18:36 How do you organize a Bitcoin themed fitness event? Can Bitcoin be used to support local families in need?27:19 How do you build a Bitcoin circular economy? How many merchants in Isla Mujeres accept Bitcoin, and how do you convince local merchants to accept Bitcoin?31:31 How do you grow a Bitcoin YouTube channel fast? What is The Exit Manual Bitcoin show ( @exitmanual )? How do you make Bitcoin content that reaches teenagers?35:25 Is Bitcoin mining too centralized? Who makes the ASIC mining chips? Is Bitcoin centralized?Live From Bitcoin Beach

Recorded in the middle of Bitcoin Month, this episode brings together Knut Svanholm, Giacomo Zucco, Mike Peterson, and Jethro Toro in El Zonte, El Salvador. They unpack what it feels like to live through Bitcoin Historico at the National Palace San Salvador, Adopting Bitcoin in San Salvador, and the Bitcoin Beach Festival on the coast. From free pupusas and packed plazas to barefoot plebs and kids everywhere, you get a ground-level view of why El Salvador still feels like Bitcoin Country after the El Salvador legal tender law and why so many Bitcoiners keep coming back.The crew shared the story everyone asks about, their surreal invitation to a formal dinner with President Bukele. Giacomo explains how he gifted a bottle of Dictador rum, they talk about Bukele’s quick jokes about Libertarian anarchism and public sector jobs, and they explain what was actually discussed about Bitcoin adoption, circular economy experiments, and bottom-up projects like Bitcoin Beach and Bitcoin Berlin. It is not a press release, it is what it felt like for plebs and authors like Knut Svanholm and educators like Giacomo Zucco to suddenly find themselves at a presidential table with Max Keiser & Stacy Herbert and other Bitcoin builders.They also go deep on the work behind the scenes. Mike Peterson shares an update on Bitcoin Beach and the push to launch at least 14 new circular economy projects across El Salvador, plus the new Bitcoin-themed boutique hotel, the Citadel of Hope, and a pickleball court in Punta Mango. Giacomo walks through the three pillars of Plan B Network, global Bitcoin education like Cubo Plus and Node Nation, physical hubs in places such as Lugano, London, and future hubs in San Salvador, and an emerging Bitcoin venture path and startup support. Along the way, they touch on the IMF pressure, how the government stayed committed through bear markets after El Salvador, legal tender went live, and why ideas like Libertarian socialism still get a fair hearing in off-the-record debates.Running through the episode is the culture piece. Knut talks about his books, the Bitcoin Infinity framing, his talks at Bitcoin Historico inside the National Palace San Salvador, and why Adopting Bitcoin feels more like a festival than a standard conference. The group tells the origin story of Satoshi Rokamoto, the improvised Bitcoin rock band that now shows up at events from Mexico to Lugano, often playing long after the sound crew tries to shut things down. If you care about Bitcoin in El Salvador, circular economy models, or just want to know what it is really like on the ground during Bitcoin Month, this conversation will probably make you start checking flights.If you enjoyed this episode, share it with a Bitcoiner who has El Salvador on their list, leave a comment with your favorite story from Bitcoin Month, and hit subscribe so you do not miss the next chapter of Bitcoin Country.-Bitcoin Beach TeamConnect and Learn more about Giacomo, Knut, Jethro:Giacomo ZuccoX: https://x.com/giacomozucco Web: https://www.giacomozucco.com/ Knut SvanholmX: https://x.com/knutsvanholm YT: https://www.youtube.com/@BitcoinInfinityShow   Jethro ToroX: https://x.com/JethroToro Support and follow Bitcoin Beach:X: https://www.twitter.com/BitcoinBeach IG: https://www.instagram.com/bitcoinbeach_sv TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@livefrombitcoinbeach Web: Live From Bitcoin Beach