AMA with Joe Nakamoto: Bitcoin Journalist, MC & Amateur Shitcoin Troll \ stacker news ~AMA

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AMA with Joe Nakamoto: Bitcoin Journalist, MC & Amateur Shitcoin Troll

14k sats \ 68 comments \ @JoeNakamoto 20 Dec AMA

Hello Stackers!

What a delight to spend time with you all today. Excited to see what questions you ask.

I'm aware that I'm not a big name in Bitcoin so here's a bit about me!

I’m a research and interview journalist with a passion for Bitcoin. I love travel, surfing and adventure.

I left mainstream reporting at Oxford Business Group and in 2020 to pursue real, source-based Bitcoin journalism.

After three years as a reporter at Cointelegraph, I began sharing videos and stories under the name Joe Nakamoto.

I also moonlight as an MC at Bitcoin and crypto conferences—sometimes I troll them—but most of my time is spent creating mini-documentaries for my YouTube channel.

Subscribe to check out my work: @JoeNakamoto on Youtube. I am REALLY trying to grow Youtube to meet more and more crypto people and normies.

Although I always try to share the links on here!

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75 sats \ 3 replies \ @JoeNakamoto OP 20 Dec

Hello! i have a beer, i'm at my desk and i'm fightning off imposter syndrome. Excited to see what you come up with :)

41 sats \ 2 replies \ @ek 20 Dec

Why do you have impostor syndrome? Do you mean you don't feel like a proper journalist?

243 sats \ 1 reply \ @JoeNakamoto OP 20 Dec

Yeah man, it's weird.

On one hand, I’ve been doing this for years, yet I still feel like I’m not quite where I want to be. I’m my own worst critic when it comes to setting goals and standards.

On the other hand, it feels like everyone’s a journalist these days. Almost all of us have cameras, basic literacy, and the tools to share information directly from the source. To truly stand out as a journalist now, you have to srsly rise above that baseline.

80 sats \ 0 replies \ @ek 20 Dec

fwiw from one fellow impostor to another, I think you have style

170 sats \ 4 replies \ @stack_harder 20 Dec

hi Joe, big fan of the combo of bitcoin of travel and btc in the wild.

you mentioned you don't feel you were 'where you want to be' (who does feel like they've made it lol)

what would your ultimate vision for you and the channel be in a few years? more reach and subs, more projects? the joe nakomoto btc only language school in el sav?

if you ever come to Bulgaria , i will buy the beers!

132 sats \ 3 replies \ @JoeNakamoto OP 20 Dec

you mentioned you don't feel you were 'where you want to be' (who does feel like they've made it lol) what would your ultimate vision for you and the channel be in a few years? more reach and subs, more projects? the joe nakomoto btc only language school in el sav? if

Great question, thanks!

I am impatient and I demand a lot of myself.

I know my content is improving, slowly, incremently, but making watchable real world bicoin stories is bloody hard. That's why the likes of Cointelegraph and CoinDesk and even Bitcoin Magazine don't do it.

I misjudged the appetite or market for low production, real world bitcoin stories and underestimated how hard it would be to venture out, solo.

I have also learned that a lot of people on youtube watch passively, so they might chuck on a podcast in the background while cleaning, for example. Or a commentator or a talk show or music channel.

Even the documentary channels that are animated / talking head explainers don't require a huge amount of active watching.

A lot of my content requires active watching, and i am strugglign to find those viewers. I thought i could cater to that market on youtube this year, and i haven't grown as much as i would have liked–i had a goal of 10k subs and i have way way missed it.

The metrics are one way for me to understand if i'm doing a good job.

Which leads to the ultimate vision.

It's the same as many other bitcoiners, i imagine—help people understand bitcoin and ya know, acquire some bitcoin along the way!

However, for me I'm also investigating all the memes and sayings we have. Don't trust, verify the "bank the unbanked" idea, or see for myself if bitcoin really is a hedge for people in South Africa.

For example, Alex Gladstein's book Check Your Financial Privilege sent me to Cuba and back to Senegal. I had to see for myself, and report on it, if Bitcoin was actually being used and how.

I'm going off tangent but i like the bitcoin school idea although not in ES. I like the seasons.

I love teaching and i see what i do as being a sort of offshot of teaching. I also love performing and being on stage—just entertaining people generallly—so maybe i explore teaching at a later stage.

for now, it's Joe Nakamoto content and investigations as much as possible :)

0 sats \ 2 replies \ @stack_harder 20 Dec

what you're doing is super hard, i can only imagine the ball juggling of making content while traveling and everything in between.

what factors influence where you visit and do you think you could spin off a Nakomoto daily news thing, a bit like Swan does every day, to keep content flowing in between lengthier investigations?

99 sats \ 1 reply \ @JoeNakamoto OP 20 Dec

what factors influence where you visit and do you think you could spin off a Nakomoto daily news thing, a bit like Swan does every day, to keep content flowing in between lengthier investigations?

i don't want to do daily news because it just doesn't really interest me—what i am doing now is behind the scenes podcasts. These podcasts help form the documentaries i make. Also it's really fun talking about bitcoin with smart people for an hour—who knew, right!

So yeah, more podcasts in 2025. And they will almost exclusively be in person!

21 sats \ 0 replies \ @stack_harder 20 Dec

makes sense. What's the name of the pod so I can add it to fountain?

126 sats \ 1 reply \ @k00b 20 Dec

Where would you recommend an overworked bitcoiner go on vacation in February, assuming they wanted to stay in the western hemisphere and be beachside?

1574 sats \ 0 replies \ @JoeNakamoto OP 20 Dec

Where would you recommend an overworked bitcoiner go on vacation in February, assuming they wanted to stay in the western hemisphere and be beachside?

Oh love this.

So it's Curaçao. But please don't tell anyone that I said that because I'm working on two videos all about how Curaçao is an undiscovered, hidden bitcoin gem.

There are loads of awesome bitcoiners there who are super welcoming + lots of merchants. Check btcmap.org and zoom in on curaçao then compare it to any other island.

The reef there is ONE OF THE BEST IN THE WORLD and you can swim to it from the shore. It's magical. Beaches are outrageously nice. I live by a beach in Europe that's very nice and Curaçao is 10x.

It's quite a developed island (compared to say central america) and most people speak english very well. I know expats there that don't bother with dutch or spanish or papiamentu (local dialect)

Very very safe. I saw way too many rolexes.

As a second option, costa rica or el salvador but the caribbean is the caribbean man.

Bitcoin is 100k, you can relax :)

170 sats \ 6 replies \ @DarthCoin 20 Dec

Which one is more important to onboard on Bitcoin?

a rich CEO from NY Manhattan
a poor family from a South American village ?

100 sats \ 2 replies \ @JoeNakamoto OP 20 Dec

Can i cop out and say they're equally important?

i'm not St Peter at the pearly gates 🤣

for the record, i would get a kick out of onboarding both. And they'd both make for pretty great content.

However, the NY CEO would get way more views

10 sats \ 1 reply \ @stack_harder 20 Dec

Darth is Saylor baiting lol

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @DarthCoin 20 Dec

21 sats \ 2 replies \ @1GLENCoop 20 Dec

I would say a poor family from a South American village. The rich only think in $ terms. Bitcoin is freedom money for everyone, but especially for the small unbanked ones.

If you have a chance to send a node to either of them, I recommend you send them one of these: https://xcancel.com/BitcoinBrabant/status/1870074654779449698

1 sat \ 0 replies \ @DarthCoin 20 Dec

Definitely I will avoid onboarding the CEO.

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @nitter 20 Dec bot

https://xcancel.com/BitcoinBrabant/status/1870074654779449698

120 sats \ 1 reply \ @Imyourfed 20 Dec

Which country or community has impressed you the most with its Bitcoin adoption story?

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @JoeNakamoto OP 20 Dec

Which country or community has impressed you the most with its Bitcoin adoption story?

So many. They're all so unique. Usually it's the self-sacrifice and humility that gets me. In the Andes, a community started using bitcoin, and as the price went up last year they started donating bitcoin to a local school. No one asked them to, they just did it.

In Dakar, Senegal, Nourou had to leave the country due to a tricky situation. He feared for his family's safety. However, he kept working and supporting from Paris. Now the government has changed he has announced another Dakar conference and is helping with meetups, flying in regularly.

Then in Cuba, of course, they're using freedom tech in a communist state. Such bravery.

100 sats \ 1 reply \ @DarthCoin 20 Dec

Which place on this planet do you think will be the last one that will adopt Bitcoin? By "place" I mean people, not countries or bullshit govs.

100 sats \ 0 replies \ @JoeNakamoto OP 20 Dec

not nice question. so i guess first up is amazonian tribes or the Sentinelese. Like uncontacted tribes. ALthogh i guess they might never adopt bitcoin?

Then i guess it's places with extremely low literacy rates. If you can't read it's very hard to bitcoin. That's why cash has faces on.

I actually really want devs and smart people to address this. We need to make bitcoin wayy easier to use and understand because we assume a certain literacy level.

then i guess it'd be the intentional laggards, so North Korea? Assuming their regime is still going.

Then maybe the amish? Would the amish be anti bitcoin? lol idk this is a fun thought experiment tho

80 sats \ 1 reply \ @_ds 20 Dec

From the documentaries and your time traveling, what would you say are the most common misconceptions from:

bitcoiners on the general public's perception of bitcoin?
the general public's perception of bitcoin?

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @JoeNakamoto OP 20 Dec

phwooar big questions. let me try.

Bitcoiners tend to overestimate the general public's intelligence level. I mean I guess this is not exclusive to bitcoiners, it also applies to anyone trying to get a new public good adopted.

I mean, remember how retarded people were/are during covid? Wearing a mask on a beach, alone. Or wearing a mask in a car on a commute to work.

so that's what we're dealing with.

We need to dumb down certain things and get a bit more normie friendly. It sounds arrogant to say it like this but bitcoin is full of geniuses (Geniii?) and many are "on the spectrum". You guys forgot how damn smart you are 🤣

"The public sees Bitcoin as a scam because they’re uninformed." This has some truth but much of the skepticism stems from legitimate concerns about volatility, usability, or associations with speculation. The public doens't know enough but have been put off by wht they do know, which is the perception of bitcoin, not the actual thing itself.

Public

Most don’t understand Bitcoin is THE tool for financial empowerment / hedge against failing systems because mainstream narratives focus on its volatility or use in illicit activities. The fuckers.
Bitcoin is too complicated. Hmm. It can be if you want it to be.
That a satoshi is the tiniest amount of a bitcoin. fuck that. BIP 176 ftw :D

70 sats \ 1 reply \ @DarthCoin 20 Dec

Which one you will onboard to Bitcoin first?

80+ years old man
10+ years kid

100 sats \ 0 replies \ @JoeNakamoto OP 20 Dec

Kid by a country mile!

i recently tried to onboard a 90 year old man (video coming january 2025) and i couldn't do it on the spot. He had no computer and barely could use a phone.

60 sats \ 1 reply \ @ek 20 Dec

Have you noticed a shift in how random people you interview on the street view Bitcoin over the years?

100 sats \ 0 replies \ @JoeNakamoto OP 20 Dec

Tbh no. Not yet at least.

Every time I do it, my conclusion is "fuck me we're early."

I meet countless people who have never ever ever ever heard the word bitcoin. They can't bloody pronounce it!

We often overlook or fail to realize just how vastly different each person’s reality can be.

50 sats \ 3 replies \ @k00b 20 Dec

Who is the smartest person you've ever met?

14 sats \ 2 replies \ @JoeNakamoto OP 20 Dec

My older brother or Saylor. They both look through you, straight at the soul.

0 sats \ 1 reply \ @k00b 20 Dec

How does your older brother spend his time?

1 sat \ 0 replies \ @JoeNakamoto OP 20 Dec

i actually can't tell you 🤣 it's probs the last thing you'd expect given we're brothers

50 sats \ 1 reply \ @Imyourfed 20 Dec

Many believe Bitcoin is primarily used for illicit activities. How do you counter this outdated narrative?

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @JoeNakamoto OP 20 Dec

Many believe Bitcoin is primarily used for illicit activities. How do you counter this outdated narrative?

If my age: ask them how they last bought weed or party drugs. Was it bitcoin or cash? Laugh about it, show them how to accept bitcoin, move on. If older, tell them that bitcoin is a big ledger like papyrus sheets held together. It's not a good tool for doing naughty things. If you want to do illicit things, use HSBC like the pro's. we laugh show them how to accept bitcoin, move on.

40 sats \ 1 reply \ @ek 20 Dec

Last time I went surfing was 10 years ago in Byron Bay (iirc) as a complete noob. It was just for a few days with a borrowed board and no instructions except some YouTube videos but I still loved it.

Where would you recommend for someone who's still trying to stand on the board for more than a few seconds? Ideally somewhere close to Europe?

What surprised me about surfing is that surfing without a shirt can be quite painful.

1000 sats \ 0 replies \ @JoeNakamoto OP 20 Dec

duuude rash vests are called rash vests for a reason!

You say close to europe, so i'd go, and this is in order of busy-ness:

Ericeira, Portugal — a go-to surf spot but v busy espesh in summer. Taghazout / Tamraght , Morocco – easy right handers. Fuerteventura, canary islands - more empty

as a beginner, you want empty waves away from people to build your confidence.

And you don't need the best waves in the world because who cares, you won't be sending an air off it!

Also, this is probs frowned upon but wave pools can help but there are a waste of time until you do 5 or 6 sessions in the sea. They can help you get used to the sensation of wanting to stand up even though you are falling over + you get filmed so it's easy to see where you're going wrong.

I like the one in bristol. Haven't tried the one in switzerlnd — it's v v spenny!

11 sats \ 1 reply \ @nichro 20 Dec

Who dresses you? How did you learn to harness such rizz?

10 sats \ 0 replies \ @Bell_curve 20 Dec

I learned recently that rizz means charisma lol

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @ek 21 Dec

What have you learned about algorithms? For example, I assume you are trying to optimise your titles, thumbnails etc.

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @satoshiplanet 21 Dec

It's good to see you here, from the first moment we asked you you didn't hesitate to participate in our cartoon series. Why do you help small bitcoin projects like ours? On the other hand, what is the best way to move around the 100% bitcoin world without using a single penny? Thanks a lot!

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @Bitcoiner1 21 Dec

I don't have any questions to you, just writing here (despite of the Pay to Post system) to say that you came up with a very cool job, Kudos to you 👍.

Traveling, Bitcoin Conferences and talking to Bitcoiners.

Ok, an idea just came to my mind. What part of your job do you like the less?

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @spraveenitpro 21 Dec

Lets say some one shills ethereum to you, how do you explain that it is shitcoin?

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @DeliveryGuy 21 Dec

How much time do you spend on Nostr?

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @ZezzebbulTheMysterious 21 Dec

Hi Joe! I really like your videos! You have great presence and calm, while engaging people around you.

I enjoy seeing how folks are using bitcoin around the world. I feel you are hastening adoption by documenting this. Looking forward to seeing further adoption around the world.

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @denlillaapan 20 Dec

What's with the impeccable dress, sir?

Always look so fancy

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @anon 20 Dec

Did you ever experience pushback for being white/western/privileged (pick your label) while spreading your knowledge in the third world (I don't like that word)?

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @BitcoinIsTheFuture 20 Dec

Thanks for coming! So much happening in the space right now. What excites you? Any concerns?

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @OT 20 Dec

Best lightning wallet?

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @mo 20 Dec

Nice to see you around here! Apart YT, what other platform are you uploading your videos on?

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @Solomonsatoshi 20 Dec

How important is it that the obstruction of Bitcoin by tax rules is removed for Bitcoin to become a viable P2P payments protocol.

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @stack_harder 20 Dec

i have another question, if the ama is still live, during your travels and bitcoining around the globe, what opinions have you changed and which new ones have you acquired ?

0 sats \ 2 replies \ @Imyourfed 20 Dec

Many criticize Bitcoin for its energy consumption. How would you explain the reality behind Bitcoin mining’s environmental impact?

32 sats \ 1 reply \ @JoeNakamoto OP 20 Dec

Many criticize Bitcoin for its energy consumption. How would you explain the reality behind Bitcoin mining’s environmental impact?

I try to let my stories do the talking. My Mum still thinks this way so i try to tell these stories as if i'm talking to my mum.

I show them my videos like Off Grid Steve, the Bitcoin Farmer and one I'm working on right now about Bitocin mining in East Africa.

Then, I show them my heater in my office which mines bitcoin.

Then if they're still listening i show them how to send sats on ln and they realise oh that can't have used much energy.

OGS: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V_PNiqIOjVA TBF; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xkVOJAWP688a

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @stack_harder 20 Dec

do you feel like if you got your mum on board, it would be in a way, mission accomplished, like 'if i can convince mum, the rest will fall like dominos!'

0 sats \ 1 reply \ @siggy47 20 Dec

You're a celebrity around these parts! You must embrace your fame.

My question: How's the Cuba bitcoin scene after all of that craziness last year? Are you still in touch with those guys? (Feel free to "nice try, fed" me)

205 sats \ 0 replies \ @JoeNakamoto OP 20 Dec

Thank you!

haha i have actually had nightmares about my Cuba visit. Nothing i would type online.

YES, the cuban bitcoiners are legends. I have actually managed to get them to come speak at Plan B El Salvador.

The plan is to do a video: "Cuba's Bitcoin Revolution 2 years on" where they explain to me what's going on with btc in cuba now. With Catrya and Forte.

AFAIK Their meetups are spreading, more and more people are getting pilled.

However, the first meetup location has shut down idk why and i haven't heard from that owner for a while. However, as you see in the video, the owner was very based. HE sold sex toys and all sorts of contraband so it might not be bitcoin that forced the shop's closure.

Plus, there's a shitcoin project that has Cake wallet funding in Cuba. That kinda sucks. I'm really not a fan of shitcoins.

0 sats \ 2 replies \ @k00b 20 Dec

What's the most surprising thing you've learned traveling and talking to bitcoiners?

247 sats \ 1 reply \ @JoeNakamoto OP 20 Dec

What's the most surprising thing you've learned traveling and talking to bitcoiners?

That we are both the best thing and the absolute worst thing for bitcoin.

We have a joke in surfing—the worst part about surfing is other surfers! It feels like that in bitcoin sometimes.

That said, bitcoiners have changed my life and shown me immense humanity and kindness. V grateful for bitcoiners.

12 sats \ 0 replies \ @ek 20 Dec

0 sats \ 8 replies \ @k00b 20 Dec

What's something you believe about bitcoin that few bitcoiners agree with you on?

246 sats \ 7 replies \ @JoeNakamoto OP 20 Dec

What's something you believe about bitcoin that few bitcoiners agree with you on?

I'm pro BIP 176 and i don't think a lot of people agree. Sats/Satoshis are mega confusing for noobies and i find it tiresome. I like this : 2.2 BTC and ₿ 89,000

That custodial lightning wallets are not a sin, especially for total noobies.
it's ok to be vegetarian and vegan (i was for 6 years, sorry not sorry)
Trad stuff is kinda regarded :D

72 sats \ 2 replies \ @DarthCoin 20 Dec

I like this : 2.2 BTC and ₿ 89,000

0 sats \ 1 reply \ @JoeNakamoto OP 20 Dec

ahaha oh mannn

10 sats \ 0 replies \ @ZezzebbulTheMysterious 21 Dec

Nah. Changing units is scammy. Sats is sats. People understand cents even that’s been a useless unit for consumer pricing in the west for years.

This isn’t some fork of bcash where we change the units.

The atom of money is the satoshi

0 sats \ 3 replies \ @ek 20 Dec

I like this : 2.2 BTC and ₿ 89,000

I haven't seen the BIP framed as using BTC for bitcoin like now and just ₿ as the symbol for satoshi yet. I couldn't actually get behind that.

edit: Oh, I thought you were talking about the BIP from @BitcoinErrorLog which is about renaming satoshis to bitcoin. What do you think about that one? I think that one is highly controversial.

21 sats \ 1 reply \ @JoeNakamoto OP 20 Dec

I haven't seen the BIP framed as using BTC for bitcoin like now and just ₿ as the symbol for satoshi yet. I couldn't actually get behind that.

i agree with his BIP but i like my idea better (bitcoiners are the worst, aren't they!)

Either way i think satoshis / sats haven't stuck, and they won't stick 🤷‍♂️

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @ek 20 Dec

Either way i think satoshis / sats haven't stuck, and they won't stick

it's okay, we're all wrong sometimes 👀

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @ek 20 Dec

I couldn't actually get behind that.

lol just noticed I wrote the opposite of what I wanted to say. I wanted to say

I could actually get behind that