Mentality in the Rigged Game with Chris Plough
Chris Plough is a Bitcoin investor since 2011, that nobody in the Bitcoin space knows about. Chris is an expert investor and a master of personal development for entrepreneurs in a multitude of different industries. In this podcast, we discuss message and mission. Chris highlights some incredible points on the direction of the podcast and the importance of happiness and fulfilment in the mission towards mass adoption.
Finding Your Bliss with Bitcoin
Brad Mills invites guest and personal development expert, Chris Plough onto the show to discuss navigating rigged games such as centralized finance and potentially dangerous Altcoins. The duo talk about the strength of Bitcoin and the exciting use cases that Altcoins can offer, but with the drawbacks of would-be money printers behind them. Brad reveals how Coinbase is centralizing the cryptocurrency market and also promoting Altcoins to new investors that may not know all the details. Chris discusses his experiences with depression, overcoming it, and the value of sovereignty and agency describing it as the “most compounding investment that can be made”. Finally, the two close things out with their current and previous projects, and Chris offers Brad some direction on building his brand.
Bitcoins and Altcoins
Brad makes it abundantly clear that he thinks that Altcoins are a dangerous investment. Citing his own experience in the past, the Bitcoin Cash Fork, and Ethereum’s scandals. Brad described currencies like belonging to DeFi as being like companies, as they hold admin keys to their currencies to lock smart contracts and even freeze accounts. I have to agree with Brad with this. This very much goes against the decentralized philosophy that Bitcoin is all about. Altcoins such as DeFi and Ethereum doing things like this are moving towards centralization of cryptocurrency. But the question remains, why is this bad? Why should you, dear reader believe Brad and me agreeing with him? By holding control over transactions, that leaves third party “mediators” available to intervene in or otherwise hold control over how users can spend a given cryptocurrency.
On the surface, the code both should and does execute properly. This is in line with a programmed feature within a handful of Altcoins, in this example Brad is citing DeFi and Ethereum. Brad is of the mind that Ethereum and DeFi are branding themselves as decentralized, when they are not, or at least not as decentralized as Bitcoin. Brad makes an excellent point about Ethereum, Bitcoin, and the blockchain technology they share. Blockchain is not intrinsically decentralized. Blockchain is a method of cryptography in computing that lends itself very well to decentralized record keeping, to keep it very brief, however not all things that are made with a blockchain are decentralized or even currency related. Blockchain technology is not always equal to money, however, Brad’s point is that Ethereum uses the brand recognition from Bitcoin to brand itself in such a manner.
Ethereum certainly has some interesting tech behind it but, its organization is not the same as Bitcoin. Ethereum keeps expanding their volume, meaning they continue to devalue their currency. Bitcoin has a limit of 21 million in circulation. Brad claims that Ethereum is not censorship resistant like Bitcoin is, as Ethereum has been intervened with in the past, most notably by exploits. Not only that, but Altcoins like DeFi and Ethereum are hacked and tampered with at alarmingly high frequency. Altcoin’s strengths lie in their impressive technology. Brad continues to describe these as companies. I think a better term would be, semi-decentralized stocks in blockchain technology, branding themselves as currency. This is the essence of what Brad means about being careful with potentially dangerous Altcoins. You may not be buying a currency. You might actually be buying a stock that looks like a currency.
Energetic Expressions Create Engagement
Chris kicks the next section off with a powerful statement. “I don’t think you’re actually an advocate of Bitcoin. You’re an advocate of principles of which Bitcoin happens to inhabit the best so far”. This embodies a lot of what makes Bitcoin valuable. Bitcoin is a project that was started with cypherpunk philosophies to make money decentralized. It’s about decentralizing finance. Chris points out that if a new technology came out tomorrow that better embodied these values, then Brad would have to shift gears in the same way that Bitcoin personalities embracing Altcoins were. Which is the conundrum Brad had a problem with. He said he felt betrayed by these people whom he saw as mentors and advocates for this philosophy and then they shifted gears.
Chris and Brad conclude that it is not the product of Bitcoin that Brad and so many others believe in. It is the values that the currency embodies. The conclusion of this conversation is that even Bitcoin, a digital currency you can’t even touch, holds the essence of a decentralized financial philosophy, and that is what makes it valuable. Chris further expands upon this, stating that it is the sovereignty that this technology provides that’s loaded into the cypherpunk philosophy that is the real treasure that Bitcoin has to offer. Sovereignty allows people to bloom into their fullest selves, Chris elaborates. Chris also remarks about Brad’s passion for Bitcoin and education and mentorship surrounding it, suggesting that Brad should follow such a path since it engages him.
Chris follows up about engagement immediately. He hammers on this point that anything an individual can do with authentic enthusiasm is a valuable investment. With enthusiasm comes engagement and when both a producer and a consumer are engaged, products and lives are all the better for it. Chris closes this point out with the following statement; “...doing something that thoroughly excites you and the cumulative effects of that over time, I think that’s the greatest, most profound, most compounding investment that can be made”. It was such enthusiasm that pushed Bitcoin to hold the value it does today. The enthusiasm behind decentralized money and the cypherpunk philosophy embodied in Bitcoin is why Bitcoin has both staying power and value. In the eyes of Chris and Brad, the Altcoins just don’t have that same energy and enthusiasm and want to run on a more centralized model than Bitcoin.
Time Stamps
00:00:30 - Brad introduces his guest and promotes Casa, a Cryptocurrency security tool
00:08:23 - The show begins, and Brad and Chris waste no time getting right into the conversation
00:11:30 - Brad discusses his gripes with Altcoins and the difference between blockchain technology and a currency
00:16:00 - The duo discuss the Bitcoin Cash fork and the fallout that emerged from it
00:25:08 - Conversation turns to Ethereum once again and Brad describes in detail why he thinks Altcoins may be a dangerous investment
00:32:44 - Chris describes centralized finance as being a rigged game. The two discuss their experiences in rigged games.
00:37:33 - Chris describes the power that sovereignty gives people and pushes them towards healthier living
00:41:16 - Conversation returns to Altcoins and Brad discusses his disappointment with major Bitcoin personalities turning towards Altcoins
00:44:57 - Altcoins and how they relate to Bitcoin and the cryptocurrency market are discussed in detail
00:55:11 - Brad mentions the use-case of the Brave Browser and the potential it has for something like Bitcoin, but not the BAT currency
00:58:10 - The Altcoin war continues as Brad and Chris discuss the conflict between Bitcoin maximalists and Altcoiners
01:10:43 - Brad and Chris discuss their experience with Bitcoin taxation, most notably that every transaction has to be recorded
01:15:40 - Brad recalls the time he was at a conference and thought he was talking to Guy Kawasaki
01:20:44 - Chris and Brad discuss Brad’s evolution with Bitcoin and the brand it’s helped him create
01:31:11 - Chris discusses his passion for moving himself and others through trauma
01:44:32 - Brad remarks about his motivations for the podcast and the future direction of his brand
01:50:00 - Chris insists that passions, agency, and the energy that authentic enthusiasm brings is the best investment you can make
01:58:24 - Financial sovereignty is a huge part in what Chris describes as “the liberation of humanity”, he discusses his thoughts on that
02:02:06 - Chris and Brad wind down with discussion about Chris’ previous projects and both of their current ones
02:09:45 - Chris discusses in greater detail his company, AdventureX and his I Am Listening project
02:15:34 - Brad talks about his experience in the cryptocurrency community on Twitter, and the social pressures that memetics apply to individuals
02:33:29 - The duo close things out and Chris plugs his social links and projects
Podcast Mentions
Choice quotes
00:33:42 - 00:33:51 “I don’t think you’re actually an advocate of Bitcoin. You’re an advocate of principles of which Bitcoin happens to inhabit the best so far.”
01:22:43 - 01:23:06 “...They (the baby boomers) own like 60 trillion dollars, or 80% of the wealth or something like that and they’re kind of not digitally native so it’s hard for them to understand Bitcoin. There’s then the whole swathe of millennials, gen z and gen x that are more digitally native, who understand the potential value of something like Bitcoin, but then get roped into shitcoins when they start learning about Bitcoin.”
01:50:05 - 01:50:19 “The human relationship with doing something that thoroughly excites you and the cumulative effects of that over time, I think that’s the greatest, most profound, most compounding investment that can be made.”
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Produced by Brad Mills - Twitter, Hamilton - YouTube, Jason Sanderson - Podcast Tech
Other Credits: bitconnect theme by schmoyoho, graphics by CryptoScamHub, Magic Internet Money inspired by u/mavensbot, invention of Bitcoin & all cryptocurrencies by Satoshi Nakamoto.