Hello and welcome to the ProofofWriting.com podcast, a podcast about crypto but one that I hope listeners will find to be a different kind of crypto podcast.
Since this is the very first episode, I thought I’d start by giving you an overview of what I plan to talk about and why I finally decided to do this.
First and foremost, my primary goal is to help raise awareness about the eCash project because I think it’s such a shame that so few people know about it. For me, it’s hands down the best cryptocurrency project out there and exemplifies everything I love about crypto. In future episodes, I’ll get into why I think the eCash project is so special by going over things like its history, its overall mission, the technical roadmap, and much more.
But in addition to wanting to bring more attention to eCash, I have a couple of other reasons why I’m doing this.
If you’re as obsessed with crypto as I am, I’m guessing you probably consume plenty of crypto content, and luckily for us, there’s plenty of crypto content already out there.
There are shows about Bitcoin, Ethereum, Web 3, NFTs, Defi, shows about crypto news and market analysis, there’s even true crime crypto podcasts. But the thing is, none of those shows seem to talk about the aspects of crypto that I’m so fascinated by.
In writing they say to write what you know and to write for yourself. So that’s basically what I’m trying to do here, to create the kind of podcast I’d want to listen to by talking about the things I’m interested in.
So you won’t be hearing me sharing price targets or discussing what’s going on with the likes of SBF or the SEC. What I will be discussing is how I think crypto in general, and eCash specifically, can change the world as we know it. My hope is that I can get people to see crypto the way I see it, which brings me to another reason why I’ve started this podcast.
While I may be a frustrated with the current level of discourse in the crypto industry today, I’m also frustrated with myself. With my inability to really articulate why I believe in this technology and why I think it’s so important. I don’t know how many times I’ve found myself in various social settings when the subject of crypto comes up. What should be an opportunity for me to win people over or at least open their eyes usually ends up with me struggling to find the right words to get my message across.
There’s this line in the novel Sophie’s Choice, where the narrator says he had the syrup but it wouldn’t pour. And that’s pretty much how I always feel in those situations. It’s like I have so much to say about crypto, but it just won’t come out, at least not in the way I want it to.
So I’m hoping I can use this platform to help me polish and refine my message, as well as think out loud and explore new ideas.
Speaking of social situations, something else I’ve come to realize is that even when the subject of crypto does come up, most people really don’t care. I don’t blame them. The people I’m usually talking to are fellow dads like myself, so their number one objective is taking care of their family. They aren’t interested in hearing about how money works, or what makes money good or bad, or this idea that having a better form of money could lead to a better world.
Imagine being at your kid’s friend’s birthday party and some dad comes up to you and starts going on and on about how crypto can revolutionize money and free us from tyranny. You’d probably think he was a little crazy. What I’m trying to say is I don’t ever want to be that guy, imposing on the generosity of others and forcing them to hear me talk about a subject they might have no interest in.
One of my favorite books is The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand, and there’s this scene in the first chapter where Howard Roark is meeting with the Dean of the architecture school he’s just been kicked out of. The Dean is trying to reason with Howard, trying to talk sense into him. But Howard makes it clear he’s not interested in the Dean’s idea of what it means to be sensible, because to him, being sensible means something radically different. Unlike the dean, Howard’s goal in life isn’t to satisfy the wants of others, but to satisfy himself, to which the Dean responds by asking Howard what about his future potential clients? How does he expect to force his crazy ideas on them? At this point Howard responds by saying one of my favorite lines in the book: “I don’t propose to force or BE forced. Those who want me will come to me.”
I’m not trying to compare myself to Howard Roark, my point is that instead of trying to force people to listen to my ideas, what I can do is articulate them to the best of my ability and put this podcast out there to serve as an invitation to those who ARE interested in hearing what I have to say.
I hope to change people’s perceptions of crypto. I want them to stop thinking it’s nothing more than a get rich quick scheme, or a way to buy illegal drugs. And that it’s also not just another asset class for people to invest in like some kind of digital version of gold.
Instead I want people to see crypto the way I see crypto. As a way to change the course of human history.
The other day I was hanging out with some friends when one of them started going on and on about how his business had recently begun using AI and what a game changer it was going to be. I don’t disagree, but I just thought it was funny because it gave me flashbacks of when people talked about crypto in that same way with that kind of passion and awe. But you never see that anymore. It’s like people have completely forgotten about what cryptocurrencies were originally intended for.
Well, I’m hoping this podcast can change that. In the coming weeks and months, in addition to talking about the eCash project and why I think it’s so special, I also want to discuss things like governments, and taxation, how public goods should be funded, what my ideal community could look like, because if eCash is really going to change the world, we need to also think about what that world could look like.
But before we get into any of that, there’s something else we need to talk about, and that’s money and the role it plays in society and throughout history. So that’s what I’ll be talking about in the next episode of the ProofofWriting.com podcast.
This is Cain, if you’re interested in following me on Twitter, you can find me @CainBCHA, and as always, thank you for listening. Until next time, cheers.