Amanda Cavallari on bitcoin culture, adoption and preserving knowledge for future generations

Bitcoin has a unique identity and qualities that rest on the foundation of decentralization. Nearly everyone who is working to understand bitcoin will eventually face the cold, hard fact that, at its core, bitcoin is about freedom. For those who have enjoyed personal liberty all their life, the concept of liberty may be more or less given importance. For those who live without it, independence and personal freedom become very important.

Many people who are diving into bitcoin will find themselves at a crossroads, having to choose between the speculative “get-rich-quick” frenzy of some crypto subcultures and the self-sovereign, owner-and-builder mentality that bitcoin provides.

Amanda Cavalleri Symbolizes the latter. Polite, empathetic and generous with his knowledge, Cavallari spends his time furthering the interest of authentic bitcoiners. She will tell you that when she first heard about bitcoin, it didn’t initially catch her attention. Thankfully, Cavallari eventually caught on to what bitcoin had to offer and has made significant contributions to the bitcoin sector ever since.

With a background in artificial intelligence, higher education and policy, Cavallari has what it takes to move the ball forward when it comes to bitcoin education. she is the chairman of the board bitcoin today allianceBoard member of the sustainable bitcoin mining company cleanspark and co-author of “bitcoin and the american dream, Cavalry also organizes annual events. bitcoin ski summit To create a thought-provoking space for bitcoiners in Jackson Hole, Wyoming to philosophize and make a greater impact in their respective areas of expertise.

His authenticity and empathy are just one of the many talents Cavallari brings to the bitcoin space. She talks openly about her past and how everything in life is layer by layer. His work is truly special and it was an honor to discuss these topics with him.

How did you first learn about bitcoin and what especially attracted you to it?

I first heard about bitcoin in 2010 from another entrepreneur in a shared office space. With very little life experience, I didn’t understand or appreciate the need for a peer-to-peer network and at first I equated it with loyalty points. It wasn’t immediately part of my journey to understanding and I didn’t make a purchase right away. Luckily, the idea of ​​the bitcoin network never left me and I’ve been gifted with incredible interactions over the years.

During my entrepreneurial journey, I became obsessed with the notion of preserving and transferring knowledge across generations. Because we no longer live in multi-generational households and age has diverged based on school, work, and after work, we are not naturally passing down lessons and traditions as we did when our species was more agricultural. An African proverb compares the death of an elder to a library burning to the ground. Every time someone dies, so does their unique insight and experience.

Wisdom is our most expendable natural resource – lack of protection and daily interaction with it deepens humanity’s historic cycle of destruction of control, corruption and war. The severe lack of time between generations has prevented the younger generation from gaining a broad, long-term perspective. It is quite possible that this difference between ages contributes significantly to the increase in the suicide rate and other mental health issues of the younger generation.

The idea of ​​knowledge as the key to humanity’s development, especially when algorithms hold deeply held beliefs, troubled me. Bridging generations and leveraging technology to preserve and share knowledge is the way to go. What was missing was an intelligent network and value transfer system. A solution would need to have an immutable ledger (preserving the contents), be decentralized (one entity cannot control the narrative) and have a mechanism to transfer value in a way that promotes freedom and equality (a system beyond fiat). Until bitcoin there was no way to authentically leverage technology to preserve and share humanity’s insights.

This realization convinced me that both the bitcoin network and bitcoin the commodity are essential to the development of humanity so that we can build on the insights, not re-learn the lessons. Bitcoin is that intelligent technology and bitcoin is that intelligent representation of value. I started going to meetups and learning more about technology. My path there was not a straight one, and like many people, I had to see the bottom of crypto to reach these realizations.

It was important for me to see the good, the bad and the ugly before I could be convinced that the solution already existed and it had been in my head for 13 years. This slow learner was grateful that bitcoin didn’t give up on him, which is why I decided to work on the parts of bitcoin that could be most useful to me: mining and policy.

What is your opinion on bitcoin culture? What would you say is the first step towards making the bitcoin culture (in the United States) more inclusive?

Bitcoin culture is in a shaky, middle-schooler phase. Many of us are divergent thinkers and have been led to believe that we are wrong by centralized institutions. While we have every right to be angry, it is time to stop using the tools of shame, fear, and guilt that these systems have used against so many of us to justify our behavior. Most of the people I know from bitcoin are brilliant, kind, courageous human beings. These are the people I want to fight with.

Bitcoin twitter is not real. It’s an algorithm that fuels drama and negativity. Most of us are not clickbait-angry, post-algorithmic, attention-seekers. Spend time on Nostra and see how we really are. We are philosophical, macro-oriented, and generally optimistic on humanity. Sometimes we are funny and funny too.

While it is vitally important that we have faced and overcome our own pain, it is even more important that we have compassion for those who are pawns of broken systems. It is the breadth of experience and strength in personal development that will allow us to create a worthy future for future generations.

I love seeing people go in and work on the one variable we can control: ourselves. I have seen a lot in a physical and environmental sense as we have become more attuned to our food, many have given up alcohol, we spend time in nature, etc. I look forward to digging more into the less tangible aspects of healing – emotional, spiritual, etc.

The longer it is inside, the deeper the rabbit’s burrow becomes. For me, the anonymity of Satoshi is extremely pleasurable. We are lucky to be a part of something bigger than ourselves.

How do you generally respond to people who dismiss bitcoin, especially those in your friend/influence group?

Arguing is low energy (for me). Broadly speaking, we get enough negativity in the media, so I try to listen more than react. Sometimes people just need to listen and if they think they’ve made up their mind at this point, there’s no point in arguing until they’re ready again. We are all on our own journeys and for me the patient, hopeful bitcoin teachers won my heart.

An example I use often is the bitcoin circular economy I saw in the Peruvian mountains outside Cusco. Motiv, a nonprofit working in South America, helped women artisans of all ages sell traditional scarves and accessories, many of them earning an income for the first time. Because there is no banking option, bitcoin was the easiest form of payment to accept. These women not only loved that I paid them in bitcoin, but they told me how much bitcoin has changed their lives. He then took me to a local store and asked me to buy groceries for the week with bitcoin, which he earned from my purchases, and for his children’s school (where the teachers are paid in bitcoin). This technology has brought resources and hope to a poor rural town.

I want people to feel the optimism that I feel about bitcoin. That’s what I focus on – stories of hope that show how it is being used around the world. Some people call this approach positive attraction, which I find to be much more effective than fear, greed, etc.

Why, in your opinion, is it important to bridge the gender gap in interest and adoption of bitcoin?

There are marketing reports indicating that millennial women will be the number one adoption demographic in the next few years. It would be nice to give them a warm welcome. I’ll keep doing this because it’s what worked for me. Focus on education, humility and patience. Treat others like they are family because in a way we are a growing bitcoin family. We are lucky to have this layer of truth to guide our conversation.

The most important thing we can do is go inside. No one will do this work for you. It’s scary – it’s worth it. The intrinsic proof of work for most of us will elevate whatever we create in the future. Now is the time to clean up so we can be strong, compassionate, visionary leaders during the chaos of the bull.

This is a guest post by Becca Bratcher. The opinions expressed are solely his own and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of BTC Inc. or Bitcoin Magazine.