My name is Carlos, I have a lopsided grin, i walk kinda funny, i like to joke with people who know me but everyone else would say i'm mean looking. I’m a Bitcoiner and this is how I got there.

in 2024 I work long days in construction and save a little to my stash with a couple of bucks on a good day and none on a bad. I live in a private rental, small and damp but it’s quiet and somewhere to lay my head. I’m at college in the evening and have certainly come to enjoy study in the shadows more than work in the day. Broke my leg in a work accident, but you can’t claim sickness if you weren’t on the books, so I limp about, ride a jackhammer until I can’t feel my hands which is my cue to start shovelling. I read a lot, write a little and keep to myself as I don’t trust people and wouldn't expect them to trust me. I have $200 in BTC. I want to live and seize the opportunity but some days I struggle to survive.

in 2020 I got a compensation cheque over a ‘miscarriage of justice’ but really it was ‘misappropriation of blame’ - was only $3k but i put it into crypto. Lockdown came and there was no work so I spent what I had to eat and ‘invested’ the rest. I ended up jumping into the shallow end from a high board, trusted the wrong people, watched too many of the wrong type of influencers and lost everything. I don’t know where those years went and the Bitcoin opportunity walked on by in plain view.

in 2016 I was released from prison having served 3 years for aggravated assault. A difference of opinion where he thought I was someone I wasn’t, pushed me and I pushed him back, he fell onto a low wall and smashed his head. The police came and cracked my eyesocket and knocked 2 of my teeth out for good measure. During the trial I could feel myself falling further than he ever did, his family had money and a desire to prove he wasn’t in the wrong, it put me on the other side of the equation. On my release I was living in temporary accommodation and my room mate used to pawn DVDs and CDs for Bitcoin, how he ended up with so many box sets of Game Of Thrones I don’t know and didn’t ask. I passed my days in the betting shop, they knew me and left me alone as I absentmindedly watched the races while never placing a bet. There was a machine in the corner and kids smelling of cannabis came in and fed crumpled banknotes into it, receipts ‘for internet money’ the woman behind the counter said. I have $50 courtesy of prison. The Bitcoin opportunity passed me by and I was too bitter at the Government to notice.

in 2012 I was out of the military and doing a resettlement course hoping to go to college. I was working as a fitness instructor part-time, my money went on food and travel but I was loving the new challenge. I read an article about uses for a Rapsberry Pi and wanted to try my hand, but the kits were expensive and who knew if Bitcoin mining was going to catch on. So I let the opportunity pass me by, but I took note and was going to look into it when I got to college.

My name was Carl, I had an easy grin, i walked with swagger, I loved to joke with people and wanted to meet everyone and hear their story. I wasn’t a Bitcoiner yet, but the world was going to make me one.

How a Lefty became a Maxi - I hope this link can count as my submission. It is a story Citadel 21 ran in volume 11, I wrote it.

Bought bitcoin. It crashed. 2 years later, it uncrashed. Bought The Bitcoin Standard for some reason. Read it with eyes wide open in bed. Watched Andreas M. Antonopoulos talking how he lost weight on stage because of Bitcoin.

Started running a shitty bitcoin node using a RPi3 I already had in the hope to make money on routing fees at some point. When I asked if RPi3 is also okay (like people who ask if Pepsi is also okay when people mention Coca-Cola), people in the raspiblitz TG group only wished me good luck with no further explanations. I felt entitled to help I didn't receive so I just used the RPi3 anyway. After several months where it kept freezing up even though I changed nothing between the attempts, I remembered what the TG group said and had to accept that they were right. It was a dumb idea of a dumb person that already made up his dumb mind. Now, I was still dumb but less dumb thanks to my experience of doing dumb things that turned out to be dumb.

Read more stuff like Mastering Bitcoin, The Internet of Money, lurked in r/bitcoin, discovered SN. Rest is history. Still feel dumb though.

Well now I'm not going to, fed. Nice try.

Once upon a time, I got sucked to the oasis through the burning stone portals, after I had been unable and too apathetic to build a well.

Which is to say, back in 2014, I tried installing a bitcoin miner on my computer. I had a rather fancy graphics card and thought it might work. I installed it, watched it, nothing much happened in three days, and I gradually forgot running it without ever making anything. This is the well I was too apathetic to build.

I understood little about it; it was just something that was internet-native, so I had a basic interest, but nothing big. Though I am a social scientist and I very much know about the practices in which official facades are kept up, and by what strategies these images - lies - reproduce, I didn't make the connection at this point. I failed early on.

Three years later, in the 2017 bull run, I installed coinbase on my phone. This is the burning stone desert. I didn't do anything with it, I opened it and looked at it a few times, but I was too chicken to put anything in at this point. And the better; this was in the middle of the parablic run and just before the 2017 crash. After the crash, I looked a few times again, but of course, the crash scared me off. I waited another six months or so, saw it not die, and then decided I'd put a little money in.

Only after that did I learm to connect what I already knew about the working of institutions with the permissionlessness and anti-bank-action of bitcoin. Then, I got a node, which isn't a well; too late for that, but I think of it as a pump that keeps everyone's life water circulating.

They say that parenthood changes you. It’s true. When I was about to become a father, I was suddenly concerned about money. I thought about what I do best - writing. So I set up a blogspot, submitted it to Google Adsense and hoped that it would go viral and rake in the millions.

Except that it didn’t. I’m still hustling over there now; it’s a good day if I can earn one cent from my blog. But jumping into the uncharted territory of content creation caught the eye of the social media manager of a local crypto exchange.

“Hey, would you like to be an influencer for us?” he wrote, “You don’t have to put in your own money.”

At that time, I was skeptical of cryptocurrencies. It just seemed surreal and sus to me - this notion of digital money. But I did think that crypto and blockchain would be the engines of growth in the future. Even if I didn’t believe in it myself, I should venture into it for the sake of my son.

So, I sprang into action. I converted all the BAT tokens to…

…Ethereum.

Why, you idiot? I hear you readers screaming at me.

Well, I don’t exactly know why. Maybe it was the fact that Bitcoin was so expensive and shooting for it felt like aiming for the impossible. Maybe it was because I didn’t want to be like everyone else - being gravitated towards the digital gold.

Anyway, so I opened up an account with the crypto exchange with ETH in my bag.

Subsequently, an article I wrote about this exchange went viral in my country. I managed to get about 10 referrals. This meant that I got sats for free because I earned a commission from my referees’ deposits. That pooh-poohed my resistance towards Bitcoin.

So, on my birthday two years ago, I decided to embark on the old-school way and give Cointiply a try. In fact, I documented about it here: https://www.publish0x.com/diaperfinancingfund/embarked-a-30-day-cointiply-challenge-on-my-birthday-xgljxrg. Gone are the days in which users could get 5 BTC from a faucet, but Cointiply still reliably dishes out sats. For an anxious and determined father, it is enough.

Love the contest idea.

Since I have already shared my bitcoin story a couple times in older posts on SN can I go really creative with it and interwine it some how into an actual story?

Under the guise of an unremarkable day, I- "Alice"—stood on the precipice of an adventure beyond the ordinary. In 2020, my then-boyfriend handed me something unexpected: an orange pill, a curious token that propelled me into a rabbit hole of unparalleled depth. This token was my introduction to the Bitcoin wonderland, a realm where the shimmer of digital gold lit uncharted paths and whispered seductive promises of financial freedom.

In this new domain, I surfed the exhilarating crests of the bull market, ascending to giant heights where wealth flowed as freely as the whimsical confections of a tea party. I was so enraptured by this ascent, I wanted to shout from the treetops, beckoning others to this feast of fortune. Yet, I was blissfully unaware of the impending descent.

The long bear market unfolded like the dimly lit corridors of Wonderland, a stark antithesis to the bull market's luminous summits. It was a period of introspection and tenacity, navigating a terrain that tested the fortitude of each intrepid explorer brave enough to delve into Satoshi’s mind. Amid these trials, I learned to evade the Queen of Hearts' fiat propaganda machine, Shitcoiners and their beguiling vows, a lure back to a semblance of freedom that was nothing more than a mirage.

Fortuitously, I had a wise Caterpillar— (my now husband, whose own orange pill odyssey commenced in 2013)—following alongside, offering guidance with the promise of deeper revelations should I choose to persist. Through these challenges, I found solace and strength not only in the knowledge I amassed but in the camaraderie of fellow SN seekers. This Wonderland bestowed upon me more than financial insight; it offered freedom, friendship, and love. Joining my life with another Bitcoiner, I came to understand that our descent into the rabbit hole was not merely a quest for Bitcoin but a deeper excavation into our selves and the PoW of our reality.

With each new Bitcoin rabbit hole explored ignites a chain of events that heralds a future as limitless as our collective imagination. 🐰

I ve heard about Bitcoin a long time ago (on news and with friends), but never paid attention.

Until 3 years ago, a friend started to talk about it more seriously as he wrote articles explaining its point of view and understanding ... but still not paid really attention (may be cause i did not have money for).

A few month later, i won at the lottery (1700 euros) and i decided to invest a part of it in cryptos.

Then one month later, my brother offered me a ledger wallet for christmas.

But at point i still did not dig into Bitcoin.

2 months after, i got a knee surgery that would left me on sick leave for 5 months.

After the 2 first weeks watching animations, i told to myself that i had to do something else apart watching movies and reading comics. And so i started to read articles and watch videos on Crypto. And from that point, i start to dig.

But the best way was to do some courses,i did an Introduction to Blockchain and on Ethereum: basis and introduction to Solidity, a course on Blockchain Revolution and another one via Linux Fundation (Introduction to Blockchain). But after those courses, i realized that i had to understand first Bitcoin (the mother of all), so i decided to follow a course i found the course offered by the-bitcoin-rabbit-hole.teachable.com (where i learnt Encryption, Wallet,Transaction, History, Economy, Money,Cyperpunk, Anarchism, Lightning Bold...) Where i went deeper by reading books on diferent topics that i was not used to i mean on Economy, only on Bitcoin, on Money, ....and many more...

Then as i wanted to go further in bitcoin world, i decided to install a Full Node BTC on Raspberry 4, and at last to apply the DCA politic. And since my journey follows its path.

Oh, money is shit Where to find something better Oh, Bitcoin is it

So...here is my "Bitcoin journey" from the beginnings... 1st chapter: I heard about BTC first time ever in 2010. On this time I was registered on many PTC sites (Pay to Click) to earn some money on my free time. Once, when I wanted to cash out from one of these sites the amount of $9 (nine US dollar), the site suggested me to create a BTC wallet, and swap my $9 to 500 BTC (five hundred Bitcoin) instantly, and they will send this amount of BTC directly to my wallet. I thought "what the hell is BTC", I have read 1 article about BTC, and the first page from litepaper...but I thought it is a scam for sure, and remained with my original plan, and cashed out $9. This was the first BIG MISTAKE! 2nd chapter: Secondly... I started to read about BTC on 2015. After our wedding with my wife I tried to convience her to buy some BTC from our wedding money. I would have liked it to buy 10 BTC (price was around $250 / BTC), but my wife didn't believed in, and most probably I was not enough convincing. Important to note, that on this time I thought about BTC strictly as a short / middle investment to make more money. 3rd chapter: In May 2021 I was on my brother's bachelor party, with a lot of friends, and some unknown peoples for me (these were my brother's classmates). I started to talk with one of these "unknown people" about finances, and he told me about BTC. We talked a lot, and he explained me the real utility of BTC, that is not just a financial device, but much more than that: it is the key to own your freedom, and to not depend on financial institutions. After this party, I maded a Binance account, and bought a middle pack of BTC, and started to read and learn about. This learning process is still continues even now.

Right now, I consider BTC a long time "investment"...investment in my future, and a possibility to exit fiat, because: To buy BTC to make more fiat it is very different from to buy BTC to exit fiat. It's not the same... As one of my friend told me: to buy BTC with fiat, and to sold your fiat for BTC have the same result, but have a very different (the opposite) way of thinking!

The Bitcoin Oracle

When Lehman Brothers fell, I was there amongst the secular, unwashed masses. When the towers fell on 9-11, I was there, amongst the shocked and bereaved. When Waco was sieged, I watched the standoff. When Ruby Ridge was televised, no one was surprised. Oklahoma city? One more tragedy on a long list.

The financial systems are evil, but evil does not require the financial systems. It grows like a noxious, choking weed among the Gardens of Man.

In 2009, after student loan forgiveness was removed and the excitement of blowing Iraq into oblivion was waning, and the new elation of the end of Afghanistan was fomenting, I saw Bitcoin. I saw it before then--bastard child of a bloody, treacherous generation.

Natives traded in shells. Certain tropical tribes? Large stones with holes in them. The Spanish, for a time, gold.

Many of my generation are now rich from Bitcoin, and yet the world is not a better place. They speak of Bitcoin as if it were Jesus, while refusing to feed His Sheep with a means of liberation they hold as an idol. It is "their" nest egg after all--their own Personal Jesus.

Bitcoin will not save us, or you, or them. The Kingdom of Heaven requires the rich man to give away his riches. Bitcoin allows one to be and possibly feel rich, but then, the wealth systems of the world have always done that. The fruits must, sooner or later manifest, or we have to conclude that the wine is in its vintage, and everyone is drunk on the latest alcohol which seems like freedom but is just one more means for people to deny the Will of God while accepting His blessings.

Our money is covered in blood. Is our Bitcoin?

Sorry Siggy. I have to break the rules. I will have make my submission a post. The character limits on comments don't suffice. You underestimated my passion for talking about bitcoin and telling random stories about myself.

Wow, it really is an excellent initiative that you have had and seeing that everyone has had a particular experience with Bitcoin, I have recently started my journey in Bitcoin.

How did I get into Bitcoin? I have partly answered that question in several of my comments on the SN platform. But this time I will do it as part of this territory.

Who am I? A doctor who, before studying medicine, studied high school at a special school since it was part of his plan to become a professional. At that school I was not in the biology specialty, as should be the case for someone who would study medical sciences, I was in mathematics, it gave me the opportunity to be closely related to computing, since it was part of the specialty.

Being a doctor in a place where the income is not enough to survive, I began to look for options for extra money on the internet, so in 2021 I began to walk the crypto path.

I knew Ponzzi systems, which thank God did not affect me like other people I knew; I entered a supposedly promising Defi project, which in the end has been diluted, I sent money to the wrong person and lost it, I consider it an educational investment.

I bought at resistance and sold at support because the FUD caught me. I didn't understand anything about trading but beginner's luck helped me and I made some profits. I have worked in a faucet where with effort I collected cents that I then put into trading and got my cents, so I continued but always away from Bitcoin. For me it was a cryptocurrency for millionaires, very technical, distant.

Everything changed a few months ago. The Cuba_Bitcoin community launches a call for the 3rd edition of the My First Bitcoin diploma course, from El Salvador, in person. Here a parenthesis, El Salvador as an example of the achievements of Bitcoin made me dream, and I heard all the time about this MFB program for education and the results of its circular economy around Bitcoin. We continue with Cuba Bitcoin and the diploma, as I live on an island in the archipelago that is distant from the main island, I wrote to the team that was coordinating the event and asked them if at some point they did the diploma online I would be interested.

Shortly afterwards I was surprised that the call was launched in dual mode, so I immediately filled out the form and was accepted, in the online mode.

For 7 weeks I had the opportunity to learn about money, the Bitcoin network and the lightning network, wallets, channel opening, multi-signature, circular economy, Nostr, Mostro and a number of incredible things.

Bitcoin was no longer distant for me, it was not expensive. It became hope, freedom, sovereignty, control of my assets. I am no longer afraid that the price will fluctuate, rather I love that it fluctuates, so I can profit.

And the icing on the cake has been Stacker News. A place to educate yourself, update yourself, debate, teach, write, make memes, have a good time, listen to stories that have been repeated in me and all that associated with stacking SATs. Couldn't be better.

This is how I became a Bitcoiner today, keeping in mind my responsibility to the Bitcoin community to educate, support and spread knowledge. Now focused on getting others on my island to adopt Bitcoin, the family business is on BTCMap, as well as 30 other businesses in Cuba, so if you come here, visit us.

In view is the start and development of a circular economy around Bitcoin for the development of citizens on foot.

This is the story of a doctor by profession, a lover of technology in general and in love with Bitcoin, it was not love at first sight, I confess, but after meeting him I can't do anything other than introduce him to everyone I know