Changing the Tide

Mike Peterson runs the Twitter handle @Bitcoinbeach and helped start that initiative in El Zonte, El Salvador. Many point to this community-led movement as instrumental in offering a playbook that made possible the adoption of Bitcoin as legal tender in El Salvador on June 8, 2021. That law goes into effect today (September 7, 2021).

As Bitcoin Beach has been Changing the Tide in terms of Lightning Network adoption in El Salvador, it is coinciding with some rather interesting positive side effects. People who generally could not think in terms of savings have begun to do so. The virtuous cycle of growth on Lightning Network leading to growth in cellular service, leading back to growth on Lightning. And more.

We also talked about:
*Why he's hoping for a slow rollout of the Bitcoin Law
*Most of Mike's life being preparation for understanding Bitcoin
*Bitcoin Beach's origin as a community-led initiative
*What most in financially privileged positions miss about the importance of Bitcoin and Lightning Network in areas locked out of the G7 financial system
*How Galoy is miles ahead because of their help developing Bitcoin Beach's Wallet
*Why lack of Internet access is a misguided critique of the new Bitcoin Law due to high levels of smartphone penetration and improvements in smartphone tech
*The power of Lightning Network, how it's bringing benefits to people in places like El Salvador, and how this wave may make it back to the shores of traditional centers of power

**Note: Nothing in this podcast constitutes financial or legal advice. The content within is solely for educational purposes. Please consult tax and legal professionals before making financial or other decisions based on what you hear.**

Brian Harrington (Twitter: @BrainHarrington) is a Product Marketing Manager at Choice by KT (Twitter: @choicebyKT). Choice allows United States citizens to track all their retirement assets in one account, including alternative and digital assets such as Bitcoin.

In the final weeks of July 2021, Choice announced a way they are Changing the Tide when it comes to retirement. We talk about Brian's role in the go-to-market messaging for the announcement that Choice account holders can use IRA funds to purchase mining equipment through Compass Mining. He is also helping the Choice team "get in the comments" with users as they build their iOS app for customer accounts in public.

We also talked about:
*how we met through Bitcoin Twitter and the Orange County Bitcoin Meetup
*his Bitcoin origin story, which started in student government
*his thoughts on recent government debates over the industry, how to interact with politicians regarding Bitcoin, and building during this moment
*using a variety of analogies to make Bitcoin accessible

**Note: Nothing in this podcast constitutes financial or legal advice. The content within is solely for educational purposes. Please consult tax and legal professionals before making financial or other decisions based on what you hear.**