I recently published on my website a study on Bitcoin adoption in Iran. 🔗 https://www.adoptblock.com/bitcoin-revolution-iran-en

I heard that original content was preferred here, so to try to make you want to read my study I will give you some insights I haven’t shared anywhere else.

For those intrigued by the notion of leveraging Bitcoin adoption as a means to combat governmental oppression, I am sure you’ll find my study interesting.

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Considering I don’t have a lot of technical skills, the best way I found to contribute to Bitcoin was to write content about it. In a bit more than a year now, I have been writing an introduction to Bitcoin (that doesn’t mention price or investment), a dive into Bitcoin energy consumption and environmental impact compared to the traditional finance, and a few others about Bitcoin innovations such as RGB, Taproot Assets, Drivechains, and many others. The moment came when I wanted to make something more meaningful. Last summer, Ray Youssef, posted a tweet searching for Iranian testimonies to write about Bitcoin adoption in Iran. I guess this idea stayed in my mind, and a few months later I started to do research.

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The hardest step I faced in order to make this study was to get testimonies.

I am half Iranian but never lived there, and I haven’t been there for over 10 years. It was inconceivable to publish this study without at least one testimony.

But can you imagine, you live in a country where you have to be careful about everything you do, about every information you share, about every person you meet. Would you tell anybody on the internet about how you are avoiding prohibitions?

Once I decided to do this study, I started a hunt on social media of Iranians exposing their interest in Bitcoin. Firstly, I started to contact family members, but none of them were using Bitcoin, some was shitcoining, most didn’t know about it. Then I searched Twitter accounts, YouTube channels, Facebook groups, telegram channels who were talking about Bitcoin in Farsi (Persian). I sent messages resuming what I was trying to do.

More or less.

After tens of messages without answers I started to think I will have to give up this idea. I would have to tell people who know about it that I couldn’t do it. During this period, I was spending hours trying to find a better way to get in touch with people. Somehow, after more tens of messages, a few of them accepted to answer my questions.

Another difficult part was the language. As an Iranian I learned Farsi while speaking with my family, but I lost it with the years.

One thing you have to understand is that people don’t leave their country only by pleasure. Most Iranians who now live outside of Iran, were constrained to do so. Some who still had the right to put a foot back there, lost it because of their activities. That’s what happened to my father. It’s a bit too personal to give more details about it here, but after my father had problems with the Iranian government I never came back there, and lost the use of speaking Farsi.

By contacting Iranians, I had to somehow “seduce” them and make them believe in my honesty, even though I was an Iranian not speaking Farsi.

One of them helped me a lot by translating my questions in Farsi so I could get more testimonies, more experience and opinions. One even wrote a two page document answering my questions in detail. And I was finally able to start writing.

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2 months later, I can say that this study is the thing I am the most proud about. Even if I wish I could write more about Bitcoin. 2 months later, I am happy because I have been able to prove to the people who accepted to share a bit of their life that they were right to trust me. 2 months later, I am thinking about what I could do next. For Iranians, and for other populations in a similar case.

I have a few ideas on new topics/populations to write about, maybe in a different format.

For Iranians, I am thinking how I could directly contribute to their Bitcoin adoption. Thinking of financing an easy Lightning wallet access (like Machankura) and educational content in Farsi. Do you guys have any ideas? What would be helpful? And how could we create a Machankura or Phoenix accessible for them?

I’d also like to have your feedback, opinions, thoughts, and questions about the study, don’t hesitate to reply.

To conclued, I wanted to thank @DarthCoin who invited me here, it was 2 days ago and I already like it here!